Baby-Friendly Initiative
St. Paul’s Hospital is baby-friendly.
Our team provides the highest standard of care to support expectant and new parents to breastfeed their babies.
Resources offered by St. Paul’s Hospital: Baby-Friendly Initiative (BFI)
What is BFI?
The Baby-Friendly Initiative (BFI) is a global designation given to hospitals who meet specific criteria based on The Ten Steps for Successful Breastfeeding. BFI provides a continuous quality improvement framework for best practice of infant feeding. In Canada, the Breastfeeding Committee for Canada regulates BFI designation.
Why is BFI important for patients?
- Ensures evidence based practice starting in pregnancy and through to postpartum.
- Provides a continuous quality improvement framework.
- Places accountability on the hospital to provide appropriate supports and services for families to meet their infant feeding goals.
- Families can make informed decisions on infant feeding.
- Ensures families are not exposed to marketing of breastmilk substitutes.
- Provides families with the support and resources to meet their breastfeeding goals.
Prenatal classes
We offer prenatal classes to help you make informed decisions about your care and prepare for the birth of your child.
Parenthood meetups
The Pregnancy, Birthing and Newborn program offers weekly parenthood meet-ups via Zoom.
Breastfeeding Medicine Clinic
Our Breastfeeding Medicine Clinic is staffed by a physician who is also a certified lactation consultant.
Feeding your baby
Every family is unique and there are many options to ensure your baby is receiving all the nutrition they need to grow healthy and strong.
Last reviewed: April 22, 2025