encourages and helps women to successfully initiate and continue to breastfeed their babies, and receives special recognition for having done so. Since the program’s inception, over 14,800 hospitals worldwide have received the Baby-Friendly™ designation” (Breastfeeding Committee for Canada, 2003c). To date, two Canadian hospitals (Brome-Missisquoi-Perkins Hospital in Cowansville, Quebec and St. Joseph’s Healthcare in Hamilton, Ontario) have received this designation (BCC, 2003c). Baby-Friendly™ Initiative: “In Canada, the name of the Baby-Friendly™ Hospital Initiative has been adapted to the Baby-Friendly™ Initiative (BFI) to reflect the continuum of care for breastfeeding mothers and babies outside of the hospital environment. With a Baby-Friendly™ hospital and community behind her, a mother will have the support she needs from the whole community to ensure her child’s full, healthy development.” (BCC, 2001a). Nursing Best Practice Guideline 20 Breastfeeding Best Practice Guidelines for Nurses Breastfeeding: Refers to the process whereby the infant receives breast-milk (AWHONN, 2000) at the breast. Exclusive breastfeeding means the infant receives only breast-milk and no other liquid or solid supplements (AWHONN, 2000; Lawrence & Lawrence, 1999). Partial breastfeeding refers to the infant receiving breast-milk for some feedings and liquid supplements, such as formula {artificial baby milk} or glucose water, at other times (AWHONN, 2000). Predominant breastfeeding refers to the infant being fed breast-milk as the predominant source of nourishment. Liquids (water, water-based drinks, fruit juice, oral re-hydration solution), ritual fluids and drops or syrups (vitamins, minerals, medicines) are allowed (WHO, 1996). Breastfeeding Support: Refers to help and encouragement to breastfeed and is categorized as follows: (AWHONN, 2000) Professional support is help and encouragement to breastfeed provided by health care professionals. These may include registered and advanced practice nurses, registered practical nurses, certified lactation consultants (in this document, this refers to IBCLC certification), registered dietitians and physicians (AWHONN, 2000). Personal support is help and encouragement to breastfeed provided by the woman’s significant other(s), friends and family members, peer counsellors or support groups (AWHONN, 2000). Informal support is support and resources provided by persons associated with the person receiving care. Persons providing informal support can include: family, friends, members of a religious or spiritual group, neighbours, etc. Breast-milk substitute: See Artificial Baby Milk 21 Nursing Best Practice Guideline Clinical Practice Guidelines or Best Practice Guidelines: Systematically developed statements (based on best available evidence) to assist practitioner and patient decisions about appropriate health care for specific clinical (practice) circumstances (Field & Lohr, 1990). Complementary Food: Any food, manufactured or locally prepared, suitable as a complement to breast-milk or to infant formula {artificial baby milk} when either becomes insufficient to satisfy the nutritional requirements of the infant. Such food is also commonly called ‘weaning food’ or ‘breast-milk supplement’ (WHO/UNICEF, 1981). Consensus: A process for making policy decisions, not a scientific method for creating new knowledge. At its best, consensus development merely makes the best use of available information, be that scientific data or the collective wisdom of the participants (Black et al., 1999). Education Recommendations: Statements of educational requirements and educational approaches/strategies for the introduction, implementation and sustainability of the best practice guideline. Family: Whomever the person defines as being family. Family members can include: parents, children, siblings, neighbours, and significant people in the community. Formula Feeding: Providing infants with proprietary infant formula {artificial baby milk}, either exclusively or as a supplement to breastfeeding (Ministry of Health Manatu Hauora New Zealand, 1997). Infant Formula: See Artificial Baby Milk Interdisciplinary: A process where health care professionals representing expertise from various health care disciplines participate in supporting families throughout the care experience. Meta-analysis: The use of statistical methods to summarize the results of independent studies, therefore providing more precise estimates of the effects of health care than those derived from the individual studies included in a review (Clarke & Oxman, 1999). Organization and Policy Recommendations: Statements of conditions required for a practice setting that enable the successful implementation of the best practice guideline. The conditions for success are largely the responsibility of the organization, although they may have implications for policy at a broader government or societal level. Peer counsellors: Typically community-based persons who have received training aimed at promoting and supporting breastfeeding. Peer counsellors usually work under the supervision of a lactation consultant or other health care professional. Practice Recommendations: Statements of best practice directed at the practice of health care professionals that are ideally evidence-based.