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The Cleopatra White Clinic got a special certification today: they are now mother-baby friendly. We found out more about the significance of that certification. Courtney Weatherburne has more:

Breast feeding is the one of the most fundamental instincts of a mother, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a struggle.

Suzuanni Vellos - Mother
"Breast feeding is not something easy, it's very hard, painful at times."

But regardless of the discomfort, breastfeeding specifically during the first 6 months is extremely beneficial to the mother and child.

Elizabeth Enriquez - Community Health Nurse, Cleopatra White
"Breastfeed is important for both the mother and the baby and the support of the father because if there is no support for the mother that means when she needs a little help so that she could do that comfortably then that is important. That benefits her health wise for herself and the baby - healthy baby and economically it benefits both the country and both the parents because then the baby is less sick, it has less stain on the health services - get sick every time and go to the hospital and things like that."

And to promote the importance of breastfeeding, the staff at Cleopatra White Clinic has been working for about a year to be mother baby friendly certified.

Elizabeth Enriquez
"As you see behind me they have the 7 steps and it wasn't easy. We had to do the training for the staff and we had to do the training for the mothers and the education, the health education for the mothers that was what we did. We trained everybody, all the staff in the whole baby friendly initiative and breast feeding initiative, so everybody could tell you something about breast feeding."

Courtney Weatherburne
"What does the certification entail? Is it there are special features in the clinic or areas where the mother can breast feed?"

Elizabeth Enriquez
"We do have a room where the mothers can breastfeed, that's right beyond that door. We put up all the signs and we have the no bottle, no stuff and then we try to keep the ongoing education for both the parents - the mother and the staff."

Hon. Pablo Marin - Health Minister
"Well it is an international agency, UNICEF comes where and do all what they need to do, the protocols available and they need to do only breast feeding and all our facilities you will see in the walk ways, everything that has to do with breast feeding, that is part of it."

Of course the overall goal is for all hospitals and clinics in the country to be mother and child certified.

All certified health facilities must be re-certified every 2 years. Minister Marin says he hopes to get private health facilities on board with this certification.