Baby friendly hospital initiative
Maternity and paediatric hospitals in Ireland are currently participating in the Baby Friendly Initiative. This is a joint World Health Organisation (WHO) and UNICEF quality initiative involving the implementation of the research-based ‘Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding*’.
The ‘10 Steps’ summarise the maternity care practices known to effectively support breastfeeding, these ‘Steps’ are:
- Have a written breastfeeding policy that is routinely communicated to all health care staff.
- Train all health care staff in skills necessary to implement this policy.
- Inform all pregnant women about the benefits and management of breastfeeding.
- Help mothers initiate breastfeeding within one half-hour of birth.
- Show mothers how to breastfeed and maintain lactation, even if they should be separated from their infants.
- Give newborn infants no food or drink other than breastmilk, unless medically indicated.
- Practice rooming in - that is, allow mothers and infants to remain together 24 hours a day.
- Encourage breastfeeding on demand.
- Give no artificial teats or pacifiers (also called dummies or soothers) to breastfeeding infants.
- Foster the establishment of breastfeeding support groups and refer mothers to them on discharge from the hospital or clinic
(Protecting, Promoting and Supporting Breastfeeding: The Special Role of Maternity Services, a joint WHO/UNICEF statement, 1989)
The Baby Friendly initiative also supports good practice for mothers who choose not to breastfeed. For further information visit www.ihph.ie
It is important that you know what the ‘10 Steps’ are so that you too will understand what helps get breastfeeding off to a good start.
