GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — New parents may notice something different at Spectrum Health Butterworth Hospital: A pacifier will not be given to their newborn unless it’s requested.
That’s one of the steps the hospital has taken as an accredited member of the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative.
“We want to stay on the cutting edge of whatever’s going on, and if this is one thing we can do to help moms be successful in breast-feeding, then we’re going to do that,” said Katie McNabnay, senior project specialist of women’s and infant services at Spectrum Health.
Spectrum Health Butterworth Hospital is one of the 482 hospitals nationwide that holds the baby friendly designation, which is part of an initiative started in the early 1990s as a partnership between the World Health Organization and UNICEF.
The goal is to get babies breast-feeding. It appears to be working for day-old Levi, who came into the world via cesarean section.