Cooper University Health Care Receives Prestigious Baby-Friendly Designation

Celebrating a milestone: Team members from Cooper’s Mother-Infant Unit.

Cooper University Health Care has achieved the highly prestigious international Baby-Friendly designation after a rigorous review process conducted by Baby-Friendly USA, the organization responsible for bestowing this certification in the United States.

This distinguished honor demonstrates that Cooper is adhering to the highest standards of care for breastfeeding mothers and their babies. These standards are built on the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding, a set of evidence-based practices recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) for optimal infant feeding support in the precious first days of a newborn’s life.

“Cooper has long been a recognized leader in the care of women and newborns,” said Lori Feldman-Winter, MD, an adolescent medicine and breastfeeding medicine specialist at Children’s Regional Hospital at Cooper, professor of pediatrics at Cooper Medical School of Rowan University, and an internationally known breastfeeding researcher and expert, who championed the Baby Friendly Initiative at Cooper. “This designation is the culmination of many years of hard work and determination across our organization and reflects our commitment to ensure that every woman who delivers a baby at our facility is given the resources, information and support needed to help her and her baby get the best, healthiest start in life.”

The positive health effects of breastfeeding are well documented and widely recognized by health authorities throughout the world. For example, the Surgeon General’s 2011 Call to Action to Support Breastfeeding stated that “Breast milk is uniquely suited to the human infant’s nutritional needs and is a live substance with unparalleled immunological and anti-inflammatory properties that protect against a host of illnesses and diseases for both mothers and children.”

Cooper joins a growing list of more than 20,000 Baby-Friendly hospitals and birth centers throughout the world. These facilities provide an environment that supports breastfeeding while respecting every woman’s right to make the best decision for herself and her family.

About Cooper University Health Care

Cooper University Health Care is a leading academic health system with more 8,900 employees including 1,600 nurses, and more than 850 employed physicians and 450 advanced practice providers. Cooper University Hospital is the only Level 1 Trauma Center in South Jersey and the busiest in the region.  Annually, nearly two million patients are served at Cooper’s 635-bed flagship hospital, outpatient surgery center, three urgent care centers, and more than 105 ambulatory offices throughout the community. Cooper has been named as one of America’s Best Employers by Forbes for two consecutive years and was recognized as one of the top hospitals in New Jersey and as a top-performing hospital nationally in numerous specialty services by U.S. News & World Report’s 2022-2023 Best Hospitals annual survey. Additionally, Cooper has earned the Healthgrades Patient Safety Excellence AwardTM for four consecutive years, placing Cooper among the top 5% of all short-term acute care hospitals.

The Cooper Health Sciences campus in Camden, NJ is home to Cooper University Hospital, MD Anderson Cancer Center at Cooper, Children’s Regional Hospital at Cooper, and Cooper Medical School of Rowan University. Visit CooperHealth.org to learn more.

About Baby-Friendly USA

As the accrediting body and national authority for the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) in the United States, Baby-Friendly USA is responsible for upholding the highest standards in infant feeding care by coordinating and conducting all activities necessary to confer the prestigious Baby-Friendly designation and ensure the widespread adoption of the BFHI in the US. Learn more about Baby-Friendly USA and the BFHI at www.babyfriendlyusa.org.

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