From Baby-Friendly Hospitals to Baby-Friendly Communities: Why Baby-Friendly Spaces Matter in Edmonton
- Baby Experts
- 14 hours ago
- 7 min read
Having a baby changes the way you experience your city.
A quick coffee run becomes an outing. A trip to the market requires a little more planning. And something as simple as finding a comfortable place to feed your baby, pump, change a diaper, or take a few minutes to settle a fussy little one can make the difference between “Let’s go!” and “Maybe we’ll just stay home.”
That’s why baby-friendly spaces matter in Edmonton.
Being baby-friendly isn't just about having a change table or a children's play area. It's about creating spaces where parents feel welcome to care for their babies—including feeding, pumping, changing, comforting and taking a break when needed.
And this idea connects to something much bigger: the Baby-Friendly Initiative (BFI).
What Is the Baby-Friendly Initiative?
The Baby-Friendly Initiative began with the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF's Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative, created to improve the care and support families receive around infant feeding.
The initiative is built around evidence-based practices that protect, promote and support breastfeeding. These include practices such as supporting skin-to-skin contact, keeping parents and babies together, helping families recognize feeding cues, supporting breastfeeding and providing parents with accurate, evidence-based information.
In Canada, the Baby-Friendly Initiative has been adapted for the Canadian health-care system through the Breastfeeding Committee for Canada's Baby-Friendly Initiative.
Importantly, Baby-Friendly isn't simply about what happens during a hospital stay.
The broader goal is to create a continuum of support for families—from pregnancy, through birth and the early postpartum period, and into the community.
Because what happens after a family leaves the hospital matters too.
A parent may receive excellent breastfeeding support during their hospital stay, but then find themselves wondering:
Can I breastfeed here?
Can I pump here?
Is there somewhere comfortable to sit?
Will I feel welcome if my baby starts crying?
A truly baby-friendly community helps answer those questions with a simple:
Yes.
Baby-Friendly Care Starts in the Hospital
Edmonton families are fortunate to have Baby-Friendly care available in their community.
Both Grey Nuns Community Hospital and Misericordia Community Hospital are designated Baby-Friendly hospitals. Covenant Health describes their Baby-Friendly designation as a commitment to protecting, promoting and supporting breastfeeding according to the WHO Baby-Friendly Initiative.
This isn't simply a sign on the hospital wall.
Baby-Friendly principles are incorporated into the way care is provided.
For example, Covenant Health's guidance for families at Grey Nuns and Misericordia includes:
Skin-to-skin care immediately after birth and throughout the hospital stay when appropriate
Rooming-in, keeping parents and babies together unless there is a medical reason for separation
Support with breastfeeding and expressing breastmilk
Education about infant feeding cues
Helping families make an informed choice about how they feed their baby
Access to breastfeeding clinics for families experiencing challenges
The hospitals also explicitly encourage breastfeeding anywhere and anytime as part of their Baby-Friendly designation.
This is what Baby-Friendly looks like when it becomes part of health-care practice: policies, education, clinical care and the everyday interactions families have with their care team.
But eventually, families leave the hospital.
And that's where the community matters.
From Hospital Policy to Community Support
At Baby Experts, our team works within hospital and clinical environments where Baby-Friendly principles are part of the standard of care.
We see firsthand how important it is for parents to have skilled support, accurate information and an environment that respects their feeding goals.
But families don't stop needing support when they walk out of the hospital doors.
The first days and weeks at home can bring new questions:
Is my baby getting enough?
Why does breastfeeding suddenly hurt?
How do I know if my pump is working properly?
What flange size do I need?
How can I maintain my milk supply if we're separated from our baby?
Where can I get help?
This is where Baby Experts is working to bring the principles of Baby-Friendly care into the community.
Professional lactation support
Our lactation team provides individualized support based on each family's circumstances, goals and feeding plan.
That may mean helping with breastfeeding, pumping, combination feeding, returning home after a NICU stay, choosing appropriate pumping equipment or simply helping parents understand what they're seeing and experiencing.
The goal is not to tell families what they should do.
It is to provide the information and support they need to make informed decisions and feel confident caring for their baby.
Access to appropriate pumping equipment
For some families, pumping is an important part of their feeding journey.
Baby Experts provides hospital-grade breast pump rentals along with access to pumping parts, education and professional lactation support.
Having access to the right equipment—and knowing how to use it comfortably and effectively—can be an important part of bridging the gap between hospital and home.
Education beyond discharge
Baby-Friendly care includes helping parents understand their baby's feeding cues and supporting them with evidence-based information.
We believe that education should continue beyond discharge.
That means answering questions parents have when they actually have them—at home, during a pumping session, or when something doesn't feel quite right.
Baby-Friendly Means Welcoming the Whole Family
The Alberta Breastfeeding Committee (ABC) is dedicated to protecting, promoting and supporting breastfeeding in Alberta and includes Baby-Friendly Communities as part of its work.
One of ABC's messages for families is simple:
You have the right to breastfeed anywhere, anytime.
That doesn't mean every business needs to become a designated Baby-Friendly facility.
It means we can all help create a culture where families don't feel they have to hide the normal realities of caring for a baby.
A baby-friendly space might offer:
A comfortable chair where a parent can feed or pump
Accessible washrooms and diaper-changing facilities
Enough room for strollers
A welcoming attitude toward breastfeeding
A quieter place to take a break when a baby becomes overstimulated
Staff who understand that babies may cry, feed frequently or need to be held
A general attitude of “You're welcome here.”
These things may seem small.
For a new parent, they can make a huge difference.
Why Baby-Friendly Spaces in Edmonton Matter for Breastfeeding
Breastfeeding doesn't happen only at home.
Babies need to feed wherever they happen to be—at a park, library, recreation centre, restaurant, shopping centre, community event or local market.
When parents feel comfortable feeding their babies in public, they don't have to choose between participating in community life and responding to their baby's needs.
That's an important part of building breastfeeding-friendly communities.
And it's something all of us can contribute to.
A business doesn't need to have a special nursing room to be welcoming.
Sometimes the most important thing is simply making sure a parent knows:
You can feed your baby here.
A Great Edmonton Example: Ignite Market 2026
This year, Baby Experts is proud to take this idea one step further through our partnership with Ignite Market 2026, taking place August 28–30 at the Booster Juice Recreation Centre in Edmonton.
Ignite Market is a free, all-ages event celebrating local food, artisans, entertainment and community.
And this year, we're excited to help make it even more welcoming for families with babies.
The Baby-Friendly Infant Feeding & Care Tent
Baby Experts is sponsoring and facilitating a Baby-Friendly Infant Feeding & Care Tent at the Ignite Market.
The idea came directly from the principles we've seen in action in Baby-Friendly health-care environments.
If Baby-Friendly care means creating an environment where families are supported in feeding and caring for their babies, why should that stop at the hospital door?
Our tent will provide families with a welcoming space to:
Breastfeed
Bottle feed
Pump
Change their baby
Take a quiet break
Settle a fussy baby
Connect with knowledgeable professionals
Take a few minutes away from the activity of the market
It's not about creating a place where parents have to feed their babies.
It's about creating a place where they can.
Because sometimes a baby needs a quiet room.
Sometimes they need to feed right in the middle of the action.
Sometimes they need a diaper change.
Sometimes they need to be held and walked around.
And sometimes parents simply need somewhere to sit down for five minutes.
All of those things are normal.
From Grey Nuns and Misericordia to the Community
This is the connection we are particularly excited about.
At Grey Nuns and Misericordia, Baby-Friendly principles are incorporated into hospital care through practices such as skin-to-skin, rooming-in, breastfeeding support, infant-feeding education and access to breastfeeding clinics.
At Baby Experts, we are taking that same philosophy of support into the community.
And at Ignite Market, we're creating a physical space where those principles can be experienced outside a health-care setting.
It's a continuum:
Hospital → Home → Community
Education → Support → Belonging
The goal isn't to replicate a hospital in the community.
It's to make the community feel a little more welcoming to families with babies.
Thank You to the Alberta Breastfeeding Committee
We are grateful to the Alberta Breastfeeding Committee for its ongoing work to protect, promote and support breastfeeding across Alberta.
ABC brings together health-care providers, breastfeeding experts and consumers who share a commitment to creating environments where families are supported. Their resources for businesses specifically encourage organizations to consider how they can create more baby-friendly spaces.
Their message that families have the right to breastfeed anywhere, anytime aligns beautifully with what we're hoping to create at Ignite Market.
We are proud to be part of a larger community of health-care professionals, organizations and businesses working toward the same goal: making it easier for families to participate fully in their communities.
A Baby-Friendly Edmonton Is Better for Everyone
A baby-friendly community isn't created by one organization.
It's created by all of us.
It's the coffee shop that makes room for a stroller.
The recreation centre that provides a comfortable place for a parent to feed.
The business owner who makes sure staff know that breastfeeding families are welcome.
The health-care professional who connects a family with the right support after discharge.
The community organization that considers parents and babies when planning an event.
And the people around them who understand that caring for a baby is simply part of everyday life.
The Baby-Friendly Initiative provides an important framework for protecting, promoting and supporting breastfeeding within health services.
But the underlying principle—creating environments where families are supported and welcomed—can reach far beyond hospital walls.
At Baby Experts, that's what we're working toward.
From the Baby-Friendly practices families experience at Grey Nuns and Misericordia, to the support families receive from our team after they return home, to the Baby-Friendly Infant Feeding & Care Tent at Ignite Market, we want Edmonton families to know:
You are welcome here.
Feed your baby.
Pump.
Change them.
Comfort them.
Take a break.
Stay for five minutes or stay for five hours.
There is room for you—and your baby—in our community.
Looking for Baby-Friendly Resources in Alberta?
The Alberta Breastfeeding Committee provides resources for families, health professionals and businesses, including information about breastfeeding and Baby-Friendly Communities.
And if you're looking for a family-friendly Edmonton event this summer, come visit Ignite Market 2026 and stop by the Baby-Friendly Infant Feeding & Care Tent, hosted by Baby Experts.
Because having a baby doesn't mean you have to stop participating in your community.
Sometimes, it just means finding a community that makes room for you—
baby and all.
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