Mississippi CHAMPS: WKKF and Bower Foundation

Mississippi Communities and Hospitals Advancing Maternity Practices (CHAMPS) seeks to improve maternal and child health outcomes through the promotion of breastfeeding and Baby-Friendly practices across Mississippi.

As of December 2025, Mississippi had 29 Baby-Friendly hospitals. The 26 CHAMPS Baby-Friendly hospitals were:

1.  Anderson Regional Medical Center
2.  Baptist Memorial Hospital-Golden Triangle
3.  Baptist Memorial Hospital-North Mississippi
4.  Baptist Memorial Hospital-Union County
5.  Highland Community Hospital
6.  King’s Daughters Medical Center
7.  Magnolia Regional Health Center
8.  Memorial Hospital at Gulfport
9.  Merit Health Central
10.  Merit Health River Oaks
11.  Merit Health Wesley
12.  Merit Health Woman’s Hospital
13.  Methodist Olive Branch Hospital
14.  Mississippi Baptist Medical Center
15.  North Mississippi Medical Center – Tupelo
16.  North Mississippi Medical Center – Gilmore Amory
17.  North Mississippi Medical Center ­- West Point
18.  Ocean Springs Hospital
19.  OCH Regional Medical Center
20. Singing River Pascagoula Hospital
21.  South Central Regional Medical Center
22.  South Sunflower County Hospital
23.  Southwest Mississippi Regional Medical Center
24.  St. Dominic Hospital
25.  University of Mississippi Medical Center
26.  Wayne General Hospital

Mississippi CHAMPS was funded by grants from the W. K. Kellogg Foundation and The Bower Foundation. We worked with Mississippi birthing hospitals to help them meet the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding and work towards Baby-Friendly designation. We also aided Mississippi hospitals in grassroots support and advocacy to improve maternal-child health practices, especially in underserved populations and communities.