Our homebirth services adhere to the World Health Organisation / UNICEF's 10 Steps to Successful Breastfeeding - guidelines for maternity services.

Every facility providing maternity services and care for newborn infants should:

1 -   Have a written breastfeeding policy that is routinely communicated to all health care staff.
2 -   Train all health care staff in skills necessary to implement this policy.
3 -   Inform all pregnant women about the benefits and management of breastfeeding.
4 -   Help mothers initiate breastfeeding within half an hour of birth.
5 -   Show mothers how to breastfeed, and how to maintain lactation even if they should be separated from their infants.
6 -   Give newborn infants no food or drink other than breast milk, unless medically indicated.
7 -   Practise rooming-in - that is, allow mothers and infants to remain together - 24 hours a day.
8 -   Encourage breastfeeding on demand.
9 -   Give no artificial teats or pacifiers (also called dummies or soothers) to breastfeeding infants.
10 - Foster the establishment of breastfeeding support groups and refer mothers to them on discharge from the hospital or clinic.

Source: Protecting, Promoting and Supporting Breastfeeding: The Special Role of Maternity Services, a joint WHO/UNICEF statement published by the World Health Organization.

More information is available from: http://www.unicef.org/newsline/tenstps.htm