Reducing Neonatal Hyperbilirubinemia With the Baby-Friendly Initiative

Measuring compliance with the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative.

OBJECTIVE The WHO/UNICEF Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) is an effective strategy to increase breast-feeding exclusivity and duration but many countries have been slow to implement it. The present paper describes the development of a computer-based instrument that measures policies and practices outlined in the BFHI. DESIGN The tool uses clinical staff/managers' and pregnant women/mo...

[The Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative and breastfeeding in a neonatal unit].

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the impact of the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative on breastfeeding practices among newborns admitted to a neonatal unit, during hospitalization and during the first six months of life. METHODS The medical records of all newborns admitted to the neonatal unit of a teaching hospital in 1994 (N=285) and 1998 (N=368) were reviewed, and information on the infants' feeding p...

The Baby-Friendly Initiative: Protecting, promoting and supporting breastfeeding.

Breastfeeding confers extensive and well-established benefits and is recognized as an extremely effective preventative health measure for both mothers and babies. Except in very few specific medical situations, breastfeeding should be universally encouraged for all mothers and infants. To improve worldwide breastfeeding initiation and duration rates, the WHO and UNICEF launched the Baby-Friendl...

Implementing and revitalizing the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative.

The Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) was launched in the 1990s by the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF as a global effort with hospitals, health services, and parents to ensure babies are breastfed for the best start in life. It is one of the Operational Targets of the Global Strategy for Infant and Young Child Feeding endorsed in 2002 by the Fifty-Fifth World Health Assembly ...

UNICEF UK BABY FRIENDLY INITIATIVE: Health benefits of breastfeeding