Pitt’s School of Nursing was recognized as a breastfeeding friendly place

The University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing received an honorable mention for its efforts to support breastfeeding during the Breastfeeding Friendly Place Awards on Aug. 7.

The Allegheny County Health Department Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program and the Allegheny County Breastfeeding Coalition host the ceremony in honor of National Breastfeeding Month each year. Other 2023 honorees included Allegheny Health Network's Wexford Hospital, Hello Neighbor, Wildman Chalmers Design and the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh.

The awards recognize workplaces, public spaces and other sites that make an extra effort to support breastfeeding in the community. This support is critical to Allegheny County’s community health improvement plan, which aims to increase human breastmilk feeding from 81.7% to 84%, and grow the proportion of infants who receive human breastmilk for eight or more weeks, through 2027.

The county also offers a Breastfeeding Help Line to increase the number of local infants receiving human milk. The Help Line is staffed by. Families can reach the Help Line — registered nurse-certified lactation counselors and internationally board-certified lactation consultants — by calling 412-687-2243 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.