Baby Friendly HealthInitiative (BFHI) Accreditation

Protecting, supporting and promoting breastfeeding in WA hospitals

Delivering a Healthy WA

© 2008. Department of Health, State of Western Australia

Our hospital is applying for Baby Friendly Health Initiative (BFHI) accreditation.

Each of us has a role to play in implementing the ten steps to successful breastfeeding.

Breastfeeding gives babies the best start in life.

BFHI is a World Health Organisation (WHO) / United Nations Children’s Fund

(UNICEF) global strategy

That promotes:• exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months.• timely introduction of adequate, safe and

appropriate complementary food. • breastfeeding for 2 yrs and beyond, as mother

and baby desire.

Everyone

Everywhere

Benefits

• Was launched in 1991 by the WHO/UNICEF.

• It aims to give every baby the best start in life by creating a health care environment where breastfeeding is the norm.

The Baby Friendly Health Initiative (BFHI)

• Implement the “Ten steps to successful breastfeeding”.

• End the practice of distribution of free and low cost supplies of infant formula to hospitals and maternity wards.

BFHI goals

Our goals

• For all staff to know how they can protect, promote and support breastfeeding in our hospital

• For all staff to be educated on the ten steps to successful breastfeeding

Have a written breastfeeding policy that is routinely communicated to all health care staff.

Step one:

• The policy is based on the 10 steps

• Everyone should know about it – if you don’t know ask a midwife

• It gives guidance on the initiation of breastfeeding.

• It ensures consistent hospital practices.

The policy should be on display

Train all health care staff in skills necessary to implement this policy.

 

Step two:

•Everyone should attend some form of training.

•Training improves breastfeeding rates.

Inform all pregnant women about the benefits and management of breastfeeding.

Step three:

• Information given to women about the benefits of breastfeeding motivates them to breastfeed.

Place babies skin to skin contact with their mothers immediately following birth for at least an hour and encourage mothers to recognise when their babies are ready to breastfeed, offering help if needed.

Step four:

• Cry less• Keep warm• Use less energy• Start to develop their

instinctive feeding behaviours

 Babies placed skin to skin

Show mothers how to breastfeed and how to maintain their lactation even if separated from their infants.

Step five:

•  Expert advice and support improves the mother’s confidence.

• Information and individual help on expressing breast milk maintains the milk supply of a mother if separated from her baby.

Give newborn infants no food or drink other than breast milk, unless medically indicated.

Step six:

• May interfere with newborn suckling.

• Reduces the frequency of breastfeeding.

• Is known to cause some babies to stop breastfeeding

Other food or drink

Practice rooming-in, allow mothers and babies to remain together 24 hours a day.

Step seven:

• Reduces the chances of cross infection.• Allows the mother to get to know her baby.

Encourage breastfeeding on demand.

Step eight:

• Scheduled feeding leads to breastfeeding problems.

• Feeding the baby whenever they are hungry helps make and maintain the milk supply.

Give no artificial teats or dummies to breastfed infants.

Step Nine:

• Dummies reduce time spent suckling at the breast.

• Dummies should not replace a breastfeed.

Foster the establishment of breastfeeding support and refer mothers on discharge from the facility.

Step ten:

Continued support after discharge improves breastfeeding rates.

What’s all the fuss?

 

Breast milk and breastfeeding baby benefits

•Less risk of infection

•Higher intelligence

•Reduces the risk of childhood obesity

•May protect them from diabetes and heart disease when older

Breastfeeding benefits for mums

• May reduce the risk of osteoporosis, breast and ovarian cancers

• Helps the return to pre-pregnancy weight.

• Requires no special equipment.

• Protects the environment.

• Is free

Breastfeeding benefits for the family

• Australian Breastfeeding Association.

• Community Child Health Nurses.

• Some hospitals have dedicated breastfeeding clinics.

• Private Lactation Consultants (fees apply).

• Mother’s groups (playgroups, coffee mornings etc).• You

Who can help?

How can you help?

Understand how the ‘Ten steps to successfully breastfeeding’

can affect your practice.

Know how important breastfeeding is for everyone

Know what to say

and

ask the midwifery staff for help if a mother asks your advice

Produced for WA Health: Women’s and

Newborns’ Health Network

© 2008. Department of Health, State of Western Australia

Music: Sovereign. Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons “Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/Photographs: Families and staff from King Edward Memorial Hospital.