The High River Hospital is working towards another significant designation.

Staff in the obstetrics ward are working toward what's called a Baby Friendly Designation.

RN and lactation consultant Anna Tumoth says they are one of only three hospitals in Alberta who have made it this far, so they decided to celebrate that and World Breastfeeding Week.

"It is basically a world-wide initiative by the World Health Organization and UNICEF to recognize breastfeeding as a health initiative to promote health and prevent illness," Tumoth says.

She says the hospital is trying to educate new parents about the importance and health benefits of breastfeeding babies.

"For the infant themselves would be to prevent illnesses in the belly, gastro illnesses, as well as respiratory illness that commonly hospitalize infants," she says. "It also decreases their chances of juvenile diabetes, juvenile cancers. There's been a lot of research around that."

To receive the designation, they had to form a multi-disciplinary breastfeeding committee with the goal to achieve the ten steps that the breastfeeding committee of Canada and the World Health Organization have laid out to be considered baby-friendly.

She says there's still a lot of work ahead and they hope to be very close when they celebrate again next year.

Questions, comments, or story ideas? Email us at news@okotoksonline.com