Hounslow health visiting services earn top UNICEF baby care accreditation
24 September 2026 · By Boroughly editorial — AI-assisted, human-reviewed.
Parents of young children in Chiswick and across Hounslow have some reassuring news: the borough's health visiting teams, family hubs and children's centres have been awarded the UNICEF UK Baby Friendly Initiative Stage 3 Accreditation — the highest level of the scheme.
The Baby Friendly Initiative is a globally recognised UNICEF programme that sets standards for how maternity and health visiting services support infant feeding, parent-infant relationships and emotional wellbeing in the earliest months of life. Stage 3 accreditation — the final and most demanding stage — signals that services have embedded best practice consistently across the workforce and can demonstrate measurable outcomes for families.
For Chiswick residents, this means that health visitors and the local family hub network have met an externally verified gold standard. Family hubs act as a single point of contact for families with children from birth to 19, covering everything from breastfeeding support to early years advice.
The accreditation was announced on Wednesday, 23 September. Full details are available on the council's news page: Hounslow teams awarded UNICEF UK Baby Friendly Initiative Stage 3 Accreditation.