Maintaining Baby Friendly neonatal standards

In February 2016, Exeter neonatal unit was awarded the first neonatal Baby Friendly Initiative (BFI) accreditation. When we initially started working towards implementing the standards, we thought that we were at the beginning of the journey and the accreditation would be the end. However, it became apparent during implementation that the standards have actually provided a secure basis on which to build upon while continuing our story. Our take home message for any unit looking to implement the BFI standards is seek criticism, remove the defensive barriers and open minds to how it could be.