Walsall Healthcare's health visiting service receives Baby Friendly Award

Unicef's Baby Friendly Initiative has recognised the excellent support in infant feeding and parent-infant relationships Walsall Health Visiting Service offers to local families.

"We decided to implement the initiative to increase breastfeeding rates and to improve care for all mothers in Walsall", says Caroline Mansell, Baby Friendly Implementation Manager.

"Breastfeeding protects babies against a wide range of serious illnesses, but however a mother chooses to feed her baby she can be sure that she will be supported to form a strong, loving relationship with her newborn through skin-to-skin contact and understanding how her baby communicates with her and needs her to respond," adds Lindsey Perry, Specialist Health Visitor for Infant Feeding.