(a) For the purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply:

(1) “Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative” means the program sponsored by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) that recognizes hospitals that offer an optimal level of care for infant feeding.

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(2) “Perinatal unit” means a maternity and newborn service of the hospital for the provision of care during pregnancy, labor, delivery, and postpartum and neonatal periods with appropriate staff, space, equipment, and supplies.

(b) All general acute care hospitals and special hospitals, as defined in subdivisions (a) and (f) of Section 1250, that have a perinatal unit shall, by January 1, 2025, adopt the “Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding,” as adopted by Baby-Friendly USA, per the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative, or an alternate process adopted by a health care service plan that includes evidence-based policies and practices and targeted outcomes, or the Model Hospital Policy Recommendations as defined in paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) of Section 123366.

(Amended by Stats. 2014, Ch. 71, Sec. 94. (SB 1304) Effective January 1, 2015.)