Three Santa Cruz County hospitals have been recognized as baby-friendly by a group that promotes breastfeeding and other pro-baby practices. Sutter Maternity & Surgery Center, Dominican Hospital Santa Cruz and Watsonville Community Hospital are now recognized as Baby-Friendly Hospitals by Baby-Friendly USA, part of a worldwide outreach founded by UNICEF and the World Health Organization in 1991.
To earn this designation, hospitals must develop policies, train staff, educate patients, emphasize mother-baby bonding practices and pass an onsite review.
Santa Cruz County has also ranked highest in the state for the third year in a row for breastfeeding in the 2018 California in-hospital breastfeeding initiation rate report.
There will be a celebration tonight at 7 p.m. at the Del Mar Theatre, 1124 Pacific Ave., following the 5:30 p.m. screening of “Giving Birth in America.” Information: call 831-722-7121.
