Baby-friendly hospital | Medical Science Optional Notes for UPSC PDF Download

Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative

• The Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) was introduced by WHO and UNICEF with the aim of encouraging maternity and newborn service facilities globally to adopt the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding.
• The Ten Steps encompass a set of policies and procedures that maternity and newborn service facilities should put in place to promote breastfeeding.
• WHO urges all maternity and newborn service facilities across the globe to incorporate the Ten Steps to support breastfeeding.

Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding: Critical Management Procedures

• Compliance with International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes:
  • Fully adhere to the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes and relevant resolutions from the World Health Assembly.
  • Maintain a written infant feeding policy communicated regularly to both staff and parents.
  • Establish continuous monitoring and date-management systems.
• Staff Competence:
  • Ensure that staff possesses the necessary knowledge, competence, and skills to actively support breastfeeding.

Key Clinical Practices

• Education for Pregnant Women: Engage pregnant women and their families in discussions about the importance and management of breastfeeding.
• Immediate Skin-to-Skin Contact: Facilitate immediate and uninterrupted skin-to-skin contact, encouraging mothers to initiate breastfeeding as soon as possible after birth.
• Support for Initiation and Maintenance: Provide continuous support to mothers in initiating and sustaining breastfeeding, offering assistance in managing common difficulties.
• Exclusive Breastfeeding: Refrain from offering breastfed newborns any food or fluids other than breast milk, unless there is a medical indication.
• Rooming-In Practices: Enable mothers and infants to stay together, promoting 24-hour rooming-in.
• Recognition of Infant Cues: Support mothers in recognizing and responding to their infants' cues for feeding.
• Counseling on Feeding Equipment: Counsel mothers on the use and associated risks of feeding bottles, teats, and pacifiers.
• Coordinated Discharge: Coordinate discharge procedures to ensure parents and infants have timely access to ongoing support and care.