Southend Hospital's maternity service has again been awarded UNICEF UK Baby Friendly Gold, the top level, after independent assessors spoke to parents and staff.

Southend Hospital’s maternity service has again been awarded Gold by the UNICEF UK Baby Friendly Initiative. Gold is the highest level of the scheme. It recognises the support the hospital gives families with feeding and bonding during pregnancy, birth and the first weeks at home.

Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the hospital, announced the award on 10 September (MSE NHS Foundation Trust). The trust says the team welcomed more than 3,000 babies at Southend Hospital last year.

What Gold means

UNICEF UK runs the Baby Friendly Initiative as an accreditation scheme for maternity, neonatal and health visiting services. Services first work towards full accreditation. Gold, which UNICEF calls “Achieving Sustainability”, is the step after that. It goes to services that keep up the core standards and also show the care is built in for the long term (UNICEF UK Baby Friendly).

The trust says Gold is awarded where excellent infant feeding support “is part of everyday care and has been sustained over many years”. Independent assessors look at:

  • staff training
  • leadership
  • quality improvement work
  • what parents and staff say, in interviews with both

The word “again” matters. This is a renewal, not a first award, so the hospital had to show the standard had held since its last assessment.

It is not a rare badge, but it is not automatic either. UNICEF’s own figures for 2025, when the page was last updated, count 13 new Gold awards and 26 Gold re-validations across the UK, out of 50 re-accreditations and 13 new full accreditations at the lower level.

Four members of Southend Hospital's maternity and infant feeding staff in navy and blue uniforms stand beneath gold tinsel outside the Fetal Medicine Centre, with a seated mother holding a baby in front of them
Staff from Southend Hospital's maternity service marking the Gold award outside the Fetal Medicine Centre. Photo: supplied by Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust

What the team says

Victoria Hopley Bridgey is the Lead Specialist Infant Feeding Midwife at Southend Hospital. She said: “This achievement reflects years of dedication, passion and teamwork across our maternity service. The Gold Award gives families confidence that they will receive expert support, informed guidance and personalised care, helping to give every baby the best possible start in life.”

She added: “Every member of our team has played a part in this success, and we remain committed to continually improving the care and support we provide to families.”

What it means for you

If you are expecting a baby at Southend, or have just had one, the award is about help you can actually use. It is not only about breastfeeding. The trust’s antenatal workshops cover mixed feeding and bottle feeding too, and the city’s breastfeeding scheme says “all infant feeding choices are considered and supported”.

Support listed by the trust and the city’s own scheme:

What When and how
Infant feeding session at Southend Hospital, run by the hospital’s infant feeding team one Saturday a month, 12.30pm to 4pm, refreshments provided. Book on 07385 391787
Main maternity line 0300 443 4444. Calls back from the hospital may show as withheld or a 0300 number
Southend Health Visitors, specialist infant feeding advice 01702 534913
Southend Supports Breastfeeding, a map of verified baby-friendly venues in the city southendsupportsbreastfeeding.org.uk

The Saturday session details come from the trust’s pregnancy page, last updated in May 2025, so ring to check the next date before you travel (MSE, your pregnancy). The health visitor number is published by Southend Supports Breastfeeding (Southend Supports Breastfeeding). If you need help urgently, contact your midwife, GP or health visitor.

Sources