Heart of Lancaster Regional Medical Center’s Women’s Place has received prestigious international recognition as a Baby-Friendly Designated birth facility. Baby-Friendly USA, Inc. is the U.S. authority for the implementation of the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI), a global program sponsored by the World Health Organization and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

The initiative encourages and recognizes hospitals and birthing centers that offer an optimal level of care for breastfeeding mothers and their babies. Based on the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding, this prestigious international award recognizes birth facilities that offer breastfeeding mothers the information, confidence and skills needed to successfully initiate and continue breastfeeding their babies.

“We are extremely proud of Women’s Place. It’s taken dedication and hard work by staff and physicians over the last two years to complete the requirements,” states Deborah Willwerth, chief executive officer. “We had to ensure that the right amount of support services were in place, including having international board-certified lactation consultants available, mother-baby skin-to-skin contact after delivery, 24-hour rooming-in, outpatient lactation services and breastfeeding education for physicians and staff.”

Heart of Lancaster, owned in part by physicians, offers a comprehensive, personalized range of inpatient and outpatient medical and surgical services administrated by compassionate, experienced physicians and staff.

Location: 1500 Highlands Dr., Lititz. For more information, call 717-625-5420 or visit LancasterMedicalCenters.com/WomensPlace.