AYRSHIRE mums and babies get excellent support when it comes to feeding. That’s the verdict following the recent UNICEF ‘Baby Friendly’ accreditation.

Following a rigorous assessment, NHS Ayrshire & Arran’s health visiting and family nurse teams were given the UNICEF UK Baby Friendly award. The award recognises the excellent support provided to mothers and babies about feeding and developing close and loving relationships between parents and their babies.

The accreditation programme assesses staff knowledge and skills, and interviews mothers about the care they have received. The results of the assessment were that 97 per cent of mothers were ‘very happy’ with their care and 100 per cent reported that they had been treated by staff who were ‘kind and considerate’ in Ayrshire.

“We are delighted with the recent assessment,” said Baby Friendly Initiative Programme Director, Sue Ashmore.

“Surveys show us that most mothers want to breastfeed but don’t always get the support they need. Mothers in Ayrshire and Arran can be confident that their health visitors and family nurses will provide the highest standard of care.”

Elizabeth Smith, Community Infant Feeding Nurse, said: “This is a great award for the health visitors and family nurses who give a high level of care to families in Ayrshire.

The assessors heard from local mothers and families about how much they appreciated their support. We were commended for our support for breastfeeding and for how we shared information about the importance of responsive and loving care for baby’s development.

It is important to dispel the myth that you can ‘spoil’ a baby with too many cuddles and lots of attention. Babies can never be loved too much!".