HCA HealthONE Aurora recognized with 2025 Celebrate 6 Award of Breastfeeding Excellence

HCA HealthONE Aurora has been recognized by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) with the 2025 Celebrate 6 Award of Breastfeeding Excellence. This award honors hospitals across Colorado that have demonstrated their commitment to supporting mothers and families by adopting evidence-based breastfeeding practices.

Awarded on a biennial basis, the Celebrate 6 distinction recognizes hospitals that have implemented at least six of the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative’s Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding. These steps, rooted in scientific evidence, are proven to increase breastfeeding success and improve health outcomes for both mothers and infants. Hospitals must demonstrate these practices through a written breastfeeding and infant feeding policy that is routinely communicated to staff.

“The hospitals awarded this year demonstrate their dedication to supporting Colorado families to breastfeed. With over 90 percent of Colorado families choosing to start breastfeeding their children each year, such supportive policies and practices are essential,” said Stacy Miller, Breastfeeding Specialist at CDPHE and facilitator of the Colorado Hospital Lactation Collaborative.

HCA HealthONE Aurora joins 38 other hospitals across Colorado recognized with the Celebrate 6 Award, including sister hospitals HCA HealthONE Mountain Ridge and HCA HealthONE Rose.

The Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding

Developed by the World Health Organization and UNICEF, the Ten Steps outline best practices for supporting breastfeeding in hospitals and birthing centers:

1. Have a written breastfeeding/infant feeding policy that is communicated to staff regularly.
2. Train all healthcare staff in the skills necessary to implement this policy.
3. Inform all pregnant women about the benefits and management of breastfeeding.
4. Help mothers initiate breastfeeding within one hour of birth.
5. Show mothers how to breastfeed and how to maintain lactation even if separated from their infants.
6. Give infants no food or drink other than breastmilk, unless medically indicated.
7. Practice rooming-in — allow mothers and infants to remain together 24 hours a day.
8. Encourage breastfeeding on demand.
9. Give no pacifiers or artificial nipples to breastfeeding infants.
10. Foster the establishment of breastfeeding support groups and refer mothers to them upon discharge.

By embracing these steps, HCA HealthONE Aurora demonstrates its dedication to improving maternal and infant health, ensuring families have the education, tools, and support they need to make the best feeding choices for their babies.