Breastfeeding-Friendly Child Care Designation Program

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FIND Breastfeeding-Friendly Child Care in your Neighborhood!

View NC BFCCD Sites in a full screen map and locate a breastfeeding-friendly child care center near you.

Background

The North Carolina Breastfeeding-Friendly Child Care Designation (NC BFCCD) program has been made possible through a grant from Kids Eat Smart Move More. The program recognizes child care facilities that have taken steps to promote, protect, and support breastfeeding. A rating system has been developed that awards child care facilities with a gold-starred building block for every two steps achieved in the Ten Steps to Breastfeeding-Friendly Child Care. These Ten Steps were adopted from the Carolina Global Breastfeeding Institute at UNC-Chapel Hill and the North Carolina Maternity Center Breastfeeding-Friendly Designation.

View an informational flyer (PDF, 151 KB) about the designation.

10 Steps

1. Make a commitment to the importance of breastfeeding, especially exclusive breastfeeding, and share this commitment with fellow staff.
2. Train all staff in the skills to support and promote optimal infant and young child feeding.
3. Inform women and families about the importance of breastfeeding.
4. Provide learning and play opportunities that normalize breastfeeding for children.
5. Ensure that all families we serve are able to properly store and label milk for child care facility use.
6. Provide a breastfeeding-friendly environment.
7. Support breastfeeding employees.
8. Ensure that each infant has a feeding plan that supports best feeding practices.
9. Contact and coordinate with local skilled breastfeeding support and actively refer.
10. Continue updates and learning about the protection, promotion and support of breastfeeding.

Benefits

By participating in this voluntary program your child care can benefit:

• Children – Breastfed children have less risk of obesity, Type 2 diabetes, asthma, ear infections, diarrhea, vomiting, and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).
• Mothers – Breastfeeding lowers a mom’s risk of breast and ovarian cancer, enhances the bond with her baby, and speeds recovery from childbirth.
• Child care – Being breastfeeding friendly may lead to better daily attendance, healthier children,  higher parent satisfaction, and more public recognition.
• Everyone – Breastfeeding-friendly child care helps everyone by improving breastfeeding rates, leading to healthier people in North Carolina.

Application

• Application (PDF, 1.12 MB)
• Breastfeeding-Friendly Application Online Resource List (PDF, 280 KB)

The deadline for the next application review is January 15, 2019.

The application for the Breastfeeding-Friendly Child Care Designation is a single document that includes background about the program, application instructions, and the application itself. We welcome your questions, comments and suggestions about the program. Please email or call us at 919.707.5800.

Webinars

North Carolina Breastfeeding-Friendly Child Care Designation

The Nutrition Services Branch has an informational pre-recorded webinar on the "North Carolina Breastfeeding Friendly Child Care Designation" available 24 hours a day. View the webinar to learn more about the Ten Steps to Breastfeeding-Friendly Child Care and how to apply for the designation.

How to Complete a Successful NC Breastfeeding-Friendly Child Care Designation Application – An Informational Webinar

The Nutrition Services Branch hosted a live webinar titled, “How to Complete a Successful NC Breastfeeding-Friendly Child Care Designation Application – An Informational Webinar.” This webinar has been recorded and is available 24 hours a day. View this webinar by following the directions below.

To Register for the Webinar

Online Registration

You will be asked first to register for Adobe Connect by entering your email and creating a password. Be sure to write down that password since any CACFP webinar you participate in will require this information. 

If you have already registered, scroll down the page and click on the “Join the Event” button. If you have not already registered or you have forgotten your password, there is a Registration prompt at the top of the page.  Don’t panic. It will only take a moment to register or to change your password. Typically, your username is your email address.

Viewing the Webinar

After you register, Adobe Connect will automatically open a new screen and will load the webinar where you will be able to see and hear it. It may take a minute or so to load depending on the speed of your computer and internet connection.

FAQs

• How is the designation awarded? Recognition is awarded incrementally for every two steps achieved to support continual improvement.
• Who can apply? Licensed childcare facilities and family day care homes in North Carolina are welcome to apply.
• Are there fees associated with applying or maintaining the designation? There are no fees associated with the designation.
• Is a site visit required as part of the application process?  No site visits are required.
• Does the designation ever expire? Yes. After three years the designation expires, at which time child care facilities may reapply.

Resources

• American Academy of Pediatrics - Breastfeeding Resources and Policy
• Breastfeeding and Child Care Programs: Meeting Best Practices, Providing Great Service
• Carolina Global Breastfeeding Institute at UNC-Chapel Hill
• Go NAP SACC Self-Assessment Instrument for Breastfeeding and Infant Feeding in the Child Care Setting
• Guide for Parents in Search of Breastfeeding-Friendly Child Care (PDF, 137 KB) - This guide provides questions to pose before or during your tour of the program, as well as specific items to look for while on tour. These questions may help to ensure you find a child care program which is a good fit for you and your family.
• La Leche League International
• Let’s Move Childcare, Infant Feeding
• Medications and More During Pregnancy and Breastfeeding - Ask the Experts!
• NC BFCCD Promotional Flyer (PDF, 151 KB)
• NC DHHS/DPH Environmental Health Section, Child Care Sanitation Rules
• NC DHHS/DPH Nutrition Services Branch, Help Me Be Healthy Birth to Six Months
• North Carolina Breastfeeding Coalition
• Resources from the American Academy of Pediatrics for Parents and Families on Breastfeeding, Responsive Feeding, and Complementary Food Introduction
• The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, Breastfeeding Promotion and Support in WIC
• US DHHS, WomensHealth.gov, Breastfeeding
• USDA, Food and Nutrition Service, Feeding Infants: A Guide for Use in the Child Nutrition Programs
• Zipmilk.org