TERRE HAUTE, Ind – Union Hospital has been designated as a baby-friendly birth facility.

Baby-Friendly USA is the U.S. authority for the implementation of the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative sponsored by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

The initiative encourages and recognizes hospitals and birthing centers that offer an optimal level of care for breastfeeding mothers and their babies.

There are more than 20,000 designated Baby-Friendly hospitals and birth centers worldwide with 555 of those here in the United States.