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Accredited training and implementation guidance that empowers hospitals and healthcare teams to improve infant feeding care

Turn Policy Into Confident Bedside Practice

The GOLD Start Infant Feeding Program is a comprehensive microlearning curriculum that provides short online lessons for hospital staff and healthcare teams alongside effective implementation guidance for administrators and educators. It was designed to help hospitals and healthcare facilities build staff competency, strengthen patient experience, and improve outcomes through evidence-based best practices for breastfeeding initiation and human milk feeding.

Evidence-Based Curriculum

Grounded in the global Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding, GOLD Start helps hospitals support quality, safety, compliance, and readiness for state and national breastfeeding designation programs. Created by experienced International Board Certified Lactation Consultants and hospital-based nurses, GOLD Start translates policy into practical bedside care so staff know what to do, what to say, and how to support families in real time.

4 Key Program Highlights

Designed to accommodate modern hospital realities, including limited time, varied staff experience, competing priorities, and the need to document consistent practice.
Engaging Microlearning
Engaging Microlearning
Short lessons, interactive clinical scenarios, and documentary-style videos that make learning accessible, relevant, and memorable without requiring full-day classes.
Monitoring Tools for Administrators
Monitoring Tools for Administrators
Comprehensive reporting dashboard and regular system updates that help administrators and educators monitor their staff's progress.
Comprehensive Materials for Educators
Comprehensive Materials for Educators
Implementation guidance, skills stations, observation tools, learner tools, and quality improvement resources that help hospitals move from staff education to consistent practice.
Accessible Learning Platform
Accessible Learning Platform
Designed to support various learning styles and learner availability, allowing learners to access their online lessons asynchronously and barrier-free.

Who Is GOLD Start For?

Hospitals Implementing or Strengthening the Ten Steps

Hospitals Implementing or Strengthening the Ten Steps

Consistent evidence-based infant feeding education for nurses and other perinatal staff alongside a structured approach for competency development, communication, and continuity of care.

Strengthen infant feeding support without pursuing a Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) designation.

Standardized approach across units, shifts, or facility locations.

Hospitals Pursuing or Maintaining Quality Designations

Hospitals Pursuing or Maintaining Quality Designations

Education that is aligned with BFHI or other national and state designations, alongside a competency verification system that is sustainable.

Customized solutions to meet initial and ongoing education to match your quality improvement and designation needs.

Experienced technical advisors that understand the administrative burden placed on hospital educators and leaders.

Healthcare Teams Delivering Infant Feeding Care

Healthcare Teams Delivering Infant Feeding Care

Provide prenatal, birth, postpartum, newborn, or infant feeding care across birth centres, clinics, private health systems, and community-based settings.

Ensure consistent, evidence-based infant feeding care across disciplines, providers, locations, and points of care.

Engaging, competency-based education that helps staff translate infant feeding knowledge into confident clinical practice.

Eight Elements. One Coordinated System.

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Element 1

Foundations of the Ten Steps: Policy, Ethics, and Systems-Level Implementation.

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Element 2

Policies and Procedures: Protecting Breastfeeding Through Code Compliance and Monitoring

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Element 3

Communication: Cultural Competency and Communication Skills for Healthcare Staff

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Element 4

Prenatal Preparation:
Breastfeeding Education and Counseling

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Element 5

Birth and Bonding: Immediate and Uninterrupted Skin-to-Skin and Early Feeding Support

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Element 6

Feeding Fundamentals: Supporting Lactation Through Key Clinical Practices

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Element 7

Specialized Support: Breastfeeding Support for Preterm, LBW, and Medically Complex Infants

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Element 8

Continuity of Care: Individualized Discharge Care and Connections to Community Support

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Benefits for Healthcare Teams

Hospital & Perinatal Leadership

Hospital & Perinatal Leadership

Align nursing practice with all Ten Steps in a structured and measurable way

Build a strong educational foundation for Baby-Friendly designation and maintenance

Standardize infant feeding education across units, shifts, and hospital locations

Support quality improvement priorities related to infant feeding outcomes, disparities, safety, and patient experience

Perinatal Nurses & Other Clinical Staff

Perinatal Nurses & Other Clinical Staff

Complete short, engaging lessons featuring recognizable clinical situations

Use respectful, practical language when discussing lactation and infant feeding

Strengthen skills related to latch, positioning, supplementation, documentation, and discharge planning

Build confidence and clarity around Ten Steps-aligned infant feeding care

Nurse Managers & Educators

Nurse Managers & Educators

Use a ready-made, Ten Steps-aligned curriculum developed by clinicians who understand hospital workflows

Fit education into staffing realities through short, focused lessons

Access competency tools, skills checklists, and verification resources

Increase the time available for staff coaching and implementation support

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Ten Steps and Quality Improvement Aligned

Connecting Education, Competency, and Outcomes

GOLD Start creates a practical connection between staff education, clinical practice,
competency validation, documentation, and measurable improvement.

Group Rates Include:

Introductory module
All 8 GOLD Start Elements
Assessment reports for each Element
Implementation Resource Guide
Competency Skills Toolkit
Learner Workbooks
Quality Improvement Toolkit
Onboarding and technical support

Equitable pricing available for full time residents of Country Category B, C & D.
View Category Rates & Request Form

Group of 10+

(5-9 Seats)

$120 USD

per seat
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Group of 20+

(10-19 Seats)

Get A Custom Quote

Consistency Where It Matters Most

One program. Three levels of impact.

Hospital

Deliver a system-wide approach to infant feeding education and support

Staff & Team Members

Reduce mixed-messages, increase competency, and improve workflows

Patients & Families

Increase evidence-based infant feeding support and coordinated care

Why Choose GOLD Start?

Training That Moves Beyond Information to Implementation

GOLD Start is designed around modern hospital realities, including limited time, varied staff experience, competing priorities, and the need to document consistent practice.

Speak to a GOLD Representative

  • Ten Steps First. Baby-Friendly Ready
  • Created for Real Clinical Workflows
  • Microlearning for Modern Healthcare Teams
  • Competency and Quality Improvement Tools
  • Dedicated Implementation Support

Frequently Asked Questions

No.  GOLD Start is designed for any hospital or healthcare facility that wants to provide consistent, evidence-based infant feeding care.  It also provides a strong education and competency foundation for hospitals and healthcare facilities pursuing or maintaining state or nationwide designations, such as the Baby-Friendly designation.

The curriculum is designed for perinatal teams working in labor and delivery, postpartum, well-baby, NICU, education, lactation, and leadership.  Hospitals and healthcare facilities can assign learning based on staff roles, units, or implementation priorities.

Short, focused lessons, interactive scenarios, and documentary-style videos can be completed in manageable segments without requiring a full-day class.

No, there are no prerequisites for this program.

Yes.  GOLD Start is accredited for 10 nursing contact hours and IBLCE Continuing Education Recognition Points (10 CERPs). Accreditation details, including the type and number of credits available, depend on how many Elements each participant completes.

GOLD Learning Online Education has been accepted by the International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners® (IBLCE®) as a Preferred Provider for the listed CERPs programme. Determination of CERPs eligibility or CERPs Provider status does not imply IBLCE®'s endorsement or assessment of education quality. As a Preferred Provider, GOLD Learning Online Education attests that it complies with the WHO Code and subsequent WHA resolutions.

Learners who complete all eight GOLD Start Elements can earn 10.0 nursing contact hours. Individual Elements range from 1.00 to 1.75 hours, allowing learners to complete the program in focused, manageable segments:

Element 1: 1.00 hours
Element 2: 1.00 hours
Element 3: 1.00 hours
Element 4: 1.25 hours
Element 5: 1.25 hours
Element 6: 1.50 hours
Element 7: 1.75 hours
Element 8: 1.25 hours

GOLD Start is designed for the interdisciplinary maternal-child health team, including nurses, lactation professionals, and other healthcare staff involved in infant feeding care. Eligibility for a specific type of continuing education credit depends on the learner’s professional credential and the requirements of the applicable accrediting organization.

Yes. Learners who successfully complete the required education and competency components receive documentation of completion and applicable continuing education credit. Organizations can use completion information to support staff education, competency development, and quality-improvement initiatives.

The full program bundle includes the introductory module, all eight Elements, assessment reporting, the Implementation Guide, Competency Skills Toolkit, learner materials, Quality Improvement Toolkit, onboarding support, and customer support.

Yes.  Hospitals or healthcare facilities may select specific Elements to address priority gaps or introduce the program in phases.  Element 1 is always included as the shared Ten Steps foundation.

Knowledge assessment and clinical competency are related but distinct.  GOLD Start supports both through online education, skills checklists, observation tools, skills-fair resources, and competency documentation guidance.

No.  GOLD Start strengthens the infant feeding knowledge and skills of the broader perinatal team.  It also reinforces when staff should collaborate with or escalate care to an IBCLC.

Yes.  Group and multi-site implementation options can help health systems standardize education across facilities while addressing local priorities.

Unsure of what training options would work best based on your facility's unique clinical needs?  Schedule a consultation with a GOLD Start Representative and tell us about your staff, designation goals, implementation timeline, and priority practice gaps.  The GOLD Start team will help you compare the full program bundle to single Element options, available add-ons, and multi-site implementation options.

GOLD Start provides a structured, flexible pathway for strengthening infant feeding education, clinical practice, and quality improvement. Hospitals begin by identifying their priorities and current gaps, then select the education, competency activities, implementation tools, and quality improvement resources that best support their goals. The program can be introduced in phases and adapted to your hospital’s staffing, policies, patient population, and existing initiatives.

The time required depends on your hospital’s size, goals, and implementation approach. GOLD Start is designed to reduce the burden on educators and implementation teams by providing ready-to-use education, competency validation activities, facilitator materials, and quality improvement tools. Hospitals may implement the program gradually, incorporate activities into existing education and competency processes, and share responsibilities across a multidisciplinary team.

Yes. GOLD Start is designed to complement existing hospital education systems and workflows. Online education can be assigned through the GOLD Learning platform, while hospitals can incorporate completion records, competency documentation, and related activities into their existing learning management, orientation, or annual competency processes. The program can also supplement other infant feeding or Baby-Friendly education by addressing practical implementation, bedside application, and competency validation.

GOLD Start can provide a consistent educational foundation as staff members enter or transition within the organization. Hospitals can integrate the program into onboarding, orientation, and ongoing competency processes so new employees receive the same core education and practice expectations. Ready-to-use materials also reduce the need for educators to recreate training each time staffing changes, helping maintain continuity even during periods of high turnover.
Turn Policy Into Confident Bedside Practice


The GOLD Start Infant Feeding Program is a comprehensive microlearning curriculum that provides short online lessons for hospital staff and healthcare teams alongside effective implementation guidance for administrators and educators. It was designed to help hospitals and healthcare facilities build staff competency, strengthen patient experience, and improve outcomes through evidence-based best practices for breastfeeding initiation and human milk feeding.

Evidence-Based Curriculum


Grounded in the global Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding, GOLD Start helps hospitals support quality, safety, compliance, and readiness for state and national breastfeeding designation programs. Created by experienced International Board Certified Lactation Consultants and hospital-based nurses, GOLD Start translates policy into practical bedside care so staff know what to do, what to say, and how to support families in real time.

GOLD Learning Online Education has been accepted by International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners® (IBLCE®) as a Preferred Provider for the listed Continuing Education Recognition Points (CERPs) programme. Determination of CERPs eligibility or Preferred Provider status does not imply IBLCE®’s endorsement or assessment of education quality. INTERNATIONAL BOARD OF LACTATION CONSULTANT EXAMINERS®, IBLCE®, INTERNATIONAL BOARD CERTIFIED LACTATION CONSULTANT®, and IBCLC® are registered marks of the International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners.