Effects of baby-friendly hospital initiative on breast-feeding practices in sindh.

OBJECTIVE To determine changes in the breastfeeding practices of mothers after receiving counseling on 'Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding' as defined by the Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative comparing baby friendly hospitals (BFHs) and non-baby-friendly hospitals in Sindh, Pakistan. METHODS The observational study was conducted from June 2007 to June 2009 in randomly selected baby-friendly and non-baby-friendly hospitals of Sindh, Pakistan. Non-probability purposive sampling was employed.The maternity staff was trained on 'Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding.'The changes in breastfeeding practices were analysed by SPSS version 15. RESULTS A total of 236 women were included in the study. Of them, 196 (83.05%) were from baby-friendly hospitals and 40 (16.94%) from non-baby-friendly hospitals. Besides, 174 (88.7%) mothers in baby-friendly hospitals and 5 (12.5%) in non-baby-friendly hospitals during antenatal care received counseling by healthcare providers.There was an increase in breastfeeding practice up to 194 (98.97%) in the first category compared to 12 (30%) in the other category. CONCLUSION Counseling under the Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative improved breastfeeding practices up to 98.97% in baby-friendly compared to non-baby-friendly hospitals.