I am only familiar with the WHO/Unicef criteria for Baby-Friendly certification, which may not be the same as those used in the US, since I understand that Baby-Friendly evaluations, in contrast to the rest of the world, are not carried out by the health authorities, but by a privately owned entity. There is absolutely nothing in the BFHI package, as WHO and Unicef developed it, where the number of mothers per room is even mentioned. Not even in the delivery rooms, actually. BFHI has to do with breastfeeding knowledge, advice and routines in the institution being evaluated. There is a requirement that the assessors be women, because in many parts of the world it would be unacceptable for men to go into the post partum wards and interview mothers when the interview contains such items as 'show me how you have been taught to put the baby to breast'. There is also a requirement that the people evaluating a hospital not be employed there, for reasons I assume are obvious. Rachel Myr (BFHI assessor in Norway) Kristiansand, Norway *********************************************** To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail To start it again: set lactnet mail (or digest) To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet All commands go to [log in to unmask] The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(R) mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html