Baby Friendly Hospital Initiatives (BFHI)

contents regarding the BFHI

1. INTRODUCTION Baby friendly hospital initiative (BFHI) is a world wide movement to protect , promote & support exclusive breast feeding. It is new global effort jointly sponsored by WHO. The term baby friendly was coined by Mr James , executive director of UNICEF.

2. Cont.…….. Promote other baby friendly activities such as antenatal care , essential new born care , immunization & appropriate management of diarrhea & acute respiratory tract infections there by rendering these health facilities as baby friendly plus hospitals. Protect the lives & future of millions of infants by making baby friendly breast feeding a universally supported practice in maternity hospitals.

3. Baby friendly hospital initiative in practical terms: 1. Encouraged & help women to breast feed their babies 2. Practice the ten 10 steps to successful breast feeding 3. Provide every mothers with health education & family planning services

4. Breast feeding “A BOON” 1. Breast feeding currently save 6 million live each year preventing diarrhea & acute respiratory infections . A breast feed child is 14 times less likely to die from respiratory disorder, & 2.5 times less likely to die from other infections compared to non- breast feed infants. 2. It is an efficient contraceptive & is responsible for ¼ to 1/3 of observed fertility suppression 3.Exclusively breast feeding in the first 4 to 6 months & extended breast feeding in the second year of life not only saves lives but also saves money for the family & nation.

5. 1 . Have a written breastfeeding policy that is routinely communicated to all health care staff. 2. Train all health care staff in skills necessary to implement this policy. 3. Inform all pregnant women about the benefits and management of breastfeeding. 4. Help mothers initiate breastfeeding within a half-hour of birth. 5. Show mothers how to breastfeed, and how to maintain lactation even if they should be separated from their infants.

6. 6. Give newborn infants no food or drink other than breast milk, unless medically indicated. 7. Practice rooming-in — allow mothers and infants to remain together — 24 hours a day. 8. Encourage breastfeeding on demand. 9. Give no artificial teats or pacifiers (also called dummies or soothers) to breastfeeding infants. 10. Foster the establishment of breastfeeding support groups and refer mothers to them on discharge from the hospital or clinic.

7. Cont.……. The policy should address 10 steps to successful breast feeding & clearly state hospital commitment n’t accept free or low cost supplies of infant formula. The policy should be: i ) Displayed where mothers & health care staff can see it . ii) Available in the local language most easily understood by the mother & health care staff. iii) Available with a senior nursing or medical officer.

8. Cont.……… All health care staff who work with pregnant women or mothers with should receive instructions on the implementation of baby friendly policy. The training should include: 1. practical aspects of all 10 steps of the hospital baby friendly policy 2. In-service or on the job training. 3. Instruction in all skills necessary to assist mothers to breast feed successfully like positioning the baby , expression of milk& management of nipple problems. Maternity staff should be also able to demonstrate adequate knowledge & skills in breast feeding management.

9. Cont.……. i ) Exclusive breast feeding for 4 to 6 months . ii) Benefits of breast feeding iii) Feeding on demand iv) How to assure enough milk.

10. Cont.……. 1. Mothers who had normal vaginal deliveries, should begin their babies to hold with skin contact with in half an hour of birth & should be offered help by a staff member to initiate breast feeding.. 2. Mothers who have had caesarean section should be given their babies to hold with in half an hour of being able to respond, i.e about 4 hours after birth offered help by a staff member to initiative breast feeding if required.

11. Conti……….. Advice mothers on correct positioning of child for successful breast feeding. Show mother how to express breast milk.

12. Cont.….. 1. Hospital staff should not recommended or offer any additional food or drink to breast feeding new born. 2.No promotion of infant food or drink other than breast milk should be displayed or disturbed to mother. 3. B. feeding mother should report that no other food or drink has been offered to their infants.

13. Cont.…….. All normal postpartum mothers in the maternity ward should be observed to have their babies with them , unless they are away for a short time for a hospital procedure or unless separation is medically indicated.

14. Cont.……… No restrictions should be placed on the frequency or length of breast feeding. Mothers should report that they feed or have been advised to feed their babies when ever they are hungry or as often as they demand , ie minimum 6 to 8 times in 24 hours especially encouraging the night feeds to give the benefit to high prolactin level in the night..

15. Cont.…… Infants in special care or others who may be receiving expressed breast milk or other medically indicated substance are fed with a cup or spoon and not with a feeding bottle . Using the artificial teats will reduce mothers nipple sucking & thus , affecting the lactation process adversely.

16. Cont.……. 1. Need for breast feeding discussed with family members accompanying women to antenatal care or visiting the hospital. 2. Mothers breast feeding plans are discussed prior to discharge & hospital provides follow- up support as needed . 3. Mothers are informed of where & from whom they may seek help if needed.

17. Benefits of BFHI 1.Cost benefits 2. Hospital gets public recognition 3. Hospital gets into a common social commitment. 4. Hospital benefits by way of maternity work input as more & more mothers would opt for such hospitals future since media will be used to create such an awareness

18. Cont.…… 5. Hospital gets information , education & communication ( IEC) material for distribution to the mothers & the health workers. 6. Gradually, will have an impact on reduction in infant malnutrition & better child survival in the areas catered by those hospital.

19. How to assess a baby friendly hospital? The process of certification of these hospitals is carried out in India by national task fore for BFHI based at Delhi. Trained & certified assessors physically inset observe the hospital & record these information on ‘’standard proforma ’’ provided by NTF.

20. Conti……… This proforma contains the key information of hospital concerned regarding the following points: whether they are fulfilling 10 steps Self declaration of the numbers of deliveries yearly & methods of promoting, protecting & supporting breast feeding in normal & difficult labor creating baby friendly community in the field of their hospital.