The following resources are available to help on your Baby-Friendly Initiative (BFI) journey:
BCC Resources:
Baby-Friendly Initiative Implementation Guideline
This guideline provides the primary framework for implementing the BFI in Canadian health care facilities. It outlines the standards for each of the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding, identifies targets for BFI designation, highlights key sentinel standards, and provides guidance for monitoring progress and identifying areas for improvement throughout implementation.
The checklist supports facilities in tracking and documenting progress toward BFI designation. Used alongside the Implementation Guideline, it helps facilities monitor compliance with BFI standards and prepare required documentation. It also includes a template under Step 1c for submitting annual aggregate infant feeding statistics for hospital/birthing centre and community health services.
Medical Indications for Supplementation
This clinical reference tool helps health professionals identify infant or parent medical conditions that may require supplementation. In hospitals and birthing centres, it supports appropriate clinical decision-making and helps determine the facility’s medical supplementation rate. These rates are reported when pursuing BFI designation using the template in the BFI Guideline Checklist.
WHO Resources:
Implementation guidance: the revised Baby-friendly Hospital Initiative
This document presents the first revision of the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding since 1989. The guidance informed the development of BCC’s Baby-Friendly Implementation Guideline. For a comparison of the WHO 2018 guidance and BCC’s 2021 Implementation Guideline, see Comparison of the Canadian and WHO BFI 10 Steps.
The Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative Monitoring Manual
This manual provides tools and strategies for monitoring adherence to the Ten Steps at three levels: within health care facilities, through external quality assurance, and at the national level for program planning and evaluation. It supports quality improvement by guiding data collection, monitoring, and analysis to strengthen breastfeeding support and outcomes.
This document outlines how the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) can be adapted for neonatal wards and the care of vulnerable newborns, including those who are small, sick, and preterm. It describes strategies for implementing the Ten Steps in neonatal settings, with an emphasis on protecting access to human milk, supporting breastfeeding when direct feeding is not yet possible, and strengthening family-centred care practices.
Provider Competency Verification:
Demonstrating staff competency is a requirement for Baby-Friendly designation and is outlined in Step 2 of the Baby-Friendly Initiative Implementation Guideline. The BCC has developed surveys and interviews to assess staff knowledge, skills, and attitudes. These tools become available once a facility begins its BFI implementation or designation journey.
Completion of staff surveys and submission of aggregate survey data are required for facilities seeking or maintaining Recognition Program status. Staff interviews are required for facilities undergoing External Assessment for BFI designation.
Additional resources for assessing staff competency include:
- Competency Verification for Direct Care Providers (WHO)
- Competency Verification for Direct Care Providers Working in Community Health Services (BCC)
- Competency Verification for Indirect Care Providers (BCC)
- Competency Verification for Indirect General Service Providers (BCC)
BFI Platform:
Once a facility begins its Baby-Friendly Initiative (BFI) implementation journey with the BCC, it gains access to the BFI Platform – a comprehensive, centralized system designed to support every stage of implementation, quality improvement, and evaluation.
The platform brings together practical tools and resources to help teams plan, implement, monitor, and sustain BFI best practices.
Through the BFI Platform, facilities have access to:
- Quality Improvement (QI) eLearning course to build staff knowledge and support evidence-based practice [coming January 2027]
- A QI Workbook, including:
- BFI Aim Statement Template
- BFI Workplan Template
- BFI PDSA Cycle Template
- A BFI Tracking Tool to monitor progress and key indicators
- Chart Audit tools for hospital and community health services
- Patient/Client Surveys (prenatal and postnatal) for hospital and community settings
- Staff Surveys to assess knowledge, attitudes, and practices
- External Assessment Interview Guides to support designation
- An automated dashboard and reporting system to visualize data and track outcomes
Together, these resources provide a structured, data-driven approach to implementing and sustaining BFI practices, supporting continuous quality improvement and readiness for designation.
Start your BFI journey today! Email us at: assessmentcommittee@breastfeedingcanada.ca