The Lord Mayor of Coventry John Blundell and the Lady Mayoress Lindsey Blundell have presented Maternity staff at University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire (UHCW) NHS Trust with a plaque to celebrate being awarded Baby Friendly Accreditation from UNICEF.

The Trust has been awarded the accreditation as international recognition of its inspirational work to support infant feeding.

After being given a tour of the Maternity Unit at University Hospital Coventry, the Lord Mayor paid tribute to staff and presented them with a special plaque.

The Mayor said: “It is fantastic to be invited to present this award and be shown around this wonderful unit. I would like to offer my personal congratulations to the maternity team for its outstanding achievement.

“It’s a well-deserved and fitting tribute to your hard work to make sure mums and new-born babies are given the best possible care when it comes to feeding.

“I am very impressed to hear that UHCW is the first NHS Trust in the region to receive the Baby Friendly Award from UNICEF.

“In Coventry we’re so proud of our health workers and the amazing service they provide and this award recognises the vital care UHCW is providing to help lead the way.”

On receiving the award, Carmen Baskerville, Infant Feeding Lead and Clinical Educator at UHCW, said: "The Trust joined forces with the Baby Friendly Initiative to strengthen breastfeeding rates and further improve care for mothers across Coventry and Warwickshire.

“We are delighted to receive this recognition. It is acknowledgment of our hard work to support strong close and loving relationships between mothers and babies. We are proud that breastfeeding rates at UHCW are above the national average.

“The feedback we receive from new mothers for the breastfeeding support we offer is incredible.”

The Baby Friendly Initiative, set up by UNICEF and the World Health Organisation, is a global programme which provides a practical and effective way for health services to improve the care provided for all mothers and babies.

In the UK, the initiative works with public services to protect, promote, and support breastfeeding and to strengthen mother-baby and family relationships.

Breastfeeding protects babies against serious illnesses including gastroenteritis and respiratory infections in infancy as well as asthma and diabetes in later life.