TAUNTON'S Musgrove Park Hospital has won a gold standard rating from Unicef for its baby friendly care and support.

Musgrove is one of only five UK hospitals to win the top accolade from the international charity.

The recognition comes after the hospital increased the time an infant feeding midwife is available from 45 to 95 hours; ensure each clinical ward in maternity has a breastfeeding champion; gave additional training for maternity and neonatal staff; put in place action plans for 'challenges'; developed training and services for related topics and also for transitional care so mothers and babies can remain together.

Sallyann King, Musgrove head of midwifery, said: "It (the gold standard) is testament to the way our midwives and support staff really go that extra mile to take care of the physical and emotional wellbeing of parents and their babies.

"Everyone knows the huge benefits to mum and baby of breastfeeding and we are really thankful for the support of Unicef, which has helped us to support new parents."

Student midwife Kayleigh Allsopp said: "I often work in the community helping mums to give birth at home, so it’s really important for me to know that we have help on hand from the infant feeding team as mums often ask us questions about breastfeeding."

Liz Gunn, infant feeding midwife, said: "We know that breastfeeding can be a challenge for some new mums in the early days and that’s where the baby friendly initiative comes in as it provides support before, during and after birth."

Taunton mum Gemma Blayney has breastfed 20-month-old daughter Harley since birth.

She said: "Once Harley was born, the maternity team at Musgrove immediately placed her onto my chest, skin to skin. This is the best thing possible and I know they try their hardest to make this happen for each birth.

“I think this really helped with the beginning of our breastfeeding journey. Harley latched on pretty perfectly soon after birth and often afterwards."

Another Taunton mum Hannah Whiskin had a tough start to breastfeeding her son Sebby was born.

She said: "He just couldn't work out what to do, but with the incredible support and help from the maternity unit and infant feeding team at Musgrove, we were able to exclusively breastfeed.

"We visited a weekly voluntary support group run by a maternity support worker, which was a godsend."