{"id":368,"date":"2025-10-24T17:56:44","date_gmt":"2025-10-24T17:56:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/breastfeeding\/?page_id=368"},"modified":"2025-10-31T15:38:10","modified_gmt":"2025-10-31T15:38:10","slug":"breastfeeding-programs-at-vdh","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/breastfeeding\/breastfeeding-programs-at-vdh\/","title":{"rendered":"Breastfeeding Programs at VDH"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pl-368\"  class=\"panel-layout\" ><div id=\"pg-368-0\"  class=\"panel-grid panel-no-style\" ><div id=\"pgc-368-0-0\"  class=\"panel-grid-cell\" ><div id=\"panel-368-0-0-0\" class=\"so-panel widget widget_media_image panel-first-child\" data-index=\"0\" ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"717\" src=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/content\/uploads\/sites\/118\/breastfeeding_programs_hero.png\" class=\"image wp-image-369  attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"\" style=\"max-width: 100%; height: auto;\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/content\/uploads\/sites\/118\/breastfeeding_programs_hero.png 2000w, https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/content\/uploads\/sites\/118\/breastfeeding_programs_hero-300x108.png 300w, https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/content\/uploads\/sites\/118\/breastfeeding_programs_hero-1024x367.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/content\/uploads\/sites\/118\/breastfeeding_programs_hero-768x275.png 768w, https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/content\/uploads\/sites\/118\/breastfeeding_programs_hero-1536x551.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" \/><\/div><div id=\"panel-368-0-0-1\" class=\"so-panel widget widget_sow-editor\" data-index=\"1\" ><div\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tclass=\"so-widget-sow-editor so-widget-sow-editor-base\"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t>\n<div class=\"siteorigin-widget-tinymce textwidget\">\n\t<h4>The Virginia Department of Health has two recognition programs. The first recognition program is the Breastfeeding-Friendly Early Care Recognition.<\/h4>\n<h2>Breastfeeding-Friendly Early Care Recognition<\/h2>\n<p>This program recognizes childcare facilities that work to support families with breastfeeding their children. There are five standards in this program:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Environment<\/li>\n<li>Family support<\/li>\n<li>Infant feeding<\/li>\n<li>Professional development<\/li>\n<li>Breastfeeding policy<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The Early Care Recognition Program is managed in partnership with <a href=\"https:\/\/vachildcare.com\/providers\/additional-provider-resources\/virginia-breastfeeding-friendly-early-care-recognition\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Child Care Aware of Virginia<\/a>. Visit the website the learn more.<\/p>\n<h2>Maternity Center Breastfeeding-Friendly Designation Program<\/h2>\n<p>The Virginia Maternity Center Breastfeeding-Friendly Designation Program utilizes the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding from Baby-Friendly USA. All birthing facilities are eligible to apply for designation, and they are evaluated based on how many of the Ten Steps they implement into their practices and policies. The program is a stepping-stone for hospitals who are preparing to apply for the Baby-Friendly USA Hospital Initiative, which is the gold standard.<\/p>\n<p>For each two of the Ten Steps that a facility completes, they will earn an additional level of designation.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Bronze: two steps earned<\/li>\n<li>Silver: four steps earned<\/li>\n<li>Gold: six steps earned<\/li>\n<li>Platinum: eight steps earned<\/li>\n<li>Diamond*: ten steps earned<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>*For facilities with an existing and active Baby-Friendly designation, they will automatically earn a diamond award after submitting proof of this documentation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><div id=\"panel-368-0-0-2\" class=\"so-panel widget widget_sow-button panel-last-child\" data-index=\"2\" ><div\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tclass=\"so-widget-sow-button so-widget-sow-button-flat-5e7a906b7533-368\"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t><div class=\"ow-button-base ow-button-align-left\"\n>\n\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/breastfeeding-friendly-designation-program\/\"\n\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"sowb-button ow-icon-placement-left ow-button-hover\" \t>\n\t\t<span>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tLearn More\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Virginia Department of Health has two recognition programs. The first recognition program is the Breastfeeding-Friendly Early Care Recognition. Breastfeeding-Friendly Early Care Recognition This program recognizes childcare facilities that work to support families with breastfeeding their children. There are five standards in this program: Environment Family support Infant feeding Professional development Breastfeeding policy The Early [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":657,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"tags":[],"class_list":["post-368","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Breastfeeding Programs at VDH - Breastfeeding<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/breastfeeding\/breastfeeding-programs-at-vdh\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Breastfeeding Programs at VDH - Breastfeeding\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Virginia Department of Health has two recognition programs. The first recognition program is the Breastfeeding-Friendly Early Care Recognition. Breastfeeding-Friendly Early Care Recognition This program recognizes childcare facilities that work to support families with breastfeeding their children. 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