Publish date: 9 November 2026
New mothers will continue to benefit from exemplary early development care as the Isle of Wight NHS Trust's maternity teams secured Level 3 of the UNICEF Baby Friendly Initiative (BFI).
The BFI award reflects the team's continued commitment to increasing breastfeeding rates and continued improvement in care for mothers and babies.
It is a globally recognised gold standard accreditation, aimed at giving babies the best possible start in life. Reaching Level 3 marks the culmination of a three-stage process which has seen the team review policies, introduce new staff training and demonstrate the Baby Friendly standards embedded in their everyday maternity care. Rather than being a separate service, the Baby Friendly approach underpins the island's maternity care, ensuring infant feeding and parent-and-baby relationship support are part of everyday conversations and practice.
Nikki Beadle, Baby Friendly Lead Midwife, recognised that achieving the accreditation required a cultural change. The team had to demonstrate the Baby Friendly standards, including assessments of staff knowledge and conversations with families about the care and support they had received.
Nikki said: "Achieving Baby Friendly accreditation is a huge accomplishment for our maternity team, and I am extremely proud of how our staff have embraced learning and embedding the Baby Friendly Standards into everyday care.
"Being able to support families to make informed decisions around feeding and developing close and loving relationships with their baby is vital, as we know the early days, weeks and months are critical for supporting baby's growth, development and emotional wellbeing.
"For us as a team, BFI accreditation is more than an award; it represents a culture where babies, parents, and families are at the heart of everything we do."
New mother Lucy, who was under the care of the Isle of Wight's maternity team, spoke of her experience: "From the moment Hugo arrived, we've been well supported with his feeding journey. His very first feed just after he was born was calm and peaceful. I vividly remember smiles and words of encouragement from our midwives and looking down at our baby, soaking up every moment of our first feed, knowing there would be plenty more to come. There's nothing more special.
"In our postnatal room, we were supported to give him syringes of colostrum I had harvested antenatally when he decided he was too tired to latch. Kind, reassuring words stopped us worrying, and it wasn't long before he was breastfeeding from me again.
"His latch didn't feel quite right and at our day one postnatal visit, I had the most amazing support, trying different positions and encouraging a deeper latch. The visit wasn't rushed at all, it was rooted in care and focused on making things more comfortable for both of us. Hugo had quite a lot of tension, so we were given exercises to help address this, and had a referral put through to assess him for a tongue tie.
"I felt really well supported the times we met the infant feeding support team. We were given additional targeted exercises specific to Hugo's needs and were informed and reassured before and during his tongue-tie release. The moment you walk through the door, you feel relaxed and well looked after.
"Every member of maternity staff we have crossed paths with have been incredibly supportive of our feeding journey and are always willing to help and answer questions. Because of this, our journey has become much smoother and more comfortable – we can't thank them enough."
This achievement is a major milestone for the team, but their work is not finished. The service will continue to be monitored through annual audits, before needing to be re-accredited in two years’ time. Once received, their longer-term ambition looks to achieve Baby Friendly Gold status.
Alison Werfalli, Group Director of Maternity and Midwifery at the Isle of Wight NHS and Portsmouth Hospital University NHS trusts, added: “I am incredibly proud of our maternity team for achieving Level 3 UNICEF UK Baby Friendly accreditation. This is a significant milestone and reflects the dedication, compassion and tremendous hard work of colleagues across our maternity service.
“Every member of the team has contributed to this achievement and it has taken real commitment, learning and cultural change, and everyone involved should feel immensely proud of what they have achieved for women, babies and families on the Isle of Wight.
“Our journey does not stop here. We now want to build on this success and progress towards the UNICEF UK Baby Friendly Gold Award, demonstrating that these high standards are sustained and embedded for the long term. Our ambition is to continue learning, listening to families and improving care, with babies, women and families at the heart of everything we do.”
