U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

NCBI Bookshelf. A service of the National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health.

Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative: Revised, Updated and Expanded for Integrated Care. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2009.

Cover of Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative

Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative: Revised, Updated and Expanded for Integrated Care.

Show details

1.1COUNTRY LEVEL IMPLEMENTATION

Background Rationale for Revisions

When the Baby-friendly Hospital Initiative was conceived in the early 1990s in response to the 1990 Innocenti Declaration on the Protection, Promotion and Support of Breastfeeding call for action, there were very few countries that had dedicated Authorities or Committees to oversee and regulate infant feeding standards. Today, after nearly 15 years of work in support of optimal infant and young child feeding, 156 countries have, at one time or another, assessed hospitals and designated at least one facility “Baby-friendly.” The BFHI has measurable and proven impact,3 however, it is clear that only a comprehensive, multi-sector, multi-level effort to protect, promote and support optimal infant and young child feeding, including legislative protection, social promotion and health worker and health system support via BFHI and additional approaches, can hope to achieve and sustain the behaviours and practices necessary to enable every mother and family to give every child the best start in life.

The 2002 WHO/UNICEF Global Strategy for Infant and Young Child Feeding (GSIYCF) calls for renewed support - with urgency - for exclusive breastfeeding from birth for 6 months, and continued breastfeeding with timely and appropriate complementary feeding for two years or longer. This Strategy and the associated “Planning Framework for Implementation” being prepared by WHO and UNICEF reconfirm the importance of the Innocenti Declaration goals, while adding attention to support for complementary feeding, maternal nutrition, and community action.

The nine operational areas of the Global Strategy are:

  1. Appoint a national breastfeeding co-ordinator, and establish a breastfeeding committee.
  2. Ensure that every maternity facility practices the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding.
  3. Take action to give effect to the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes and subsequent relevant resolutions of the World Health Assembly.
  4. Enact imaginative legislation protecting the breastfeeding rights of working women.
  5. Develop, implement, monitor and evaluate a comprehensive policy covering all aspects of infant and young child feeding.
  6. Ensure that the health care system and other relevant sectors protect, promote and support exclusive breastfeeding for six months and continued breastfeeding for up to two years of age or beyond, while providing women with the support that they require to achieve this goal, in the family, community and workplace.
  7. Promote timely, adequate, safe and appropriate complementary feeding with continued breastfeeding.
  8. Provide guidance on feeding of infants and young children in exceptionally difficult circumstances, which include emergencies and parental HIV infection.
  9. Consider what new legislation or other suitable measures may be required to give effect to the principles and aim of the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes and to subsequent relevant World Health Assembly resolutions.

This implementation plan encourages all countries to revitalize action programmes according to the Global Strategy, including the Baby-friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI). The original BFHI addresses targets 1 and 2 and 8, above, and this version adds some clarity to 1, 2, 6, 7 and 8.

In 2003, nine UN agencies joined in the development and launching of “HIV and Infant Feeding - Framework for Priority Action”. This document recommends key actions to governments related to infant and young child feeding, and covers the special circumstances associated with HIV/AIDS. The aim of these actions is to create and sustain an environment that encourages appropriate feeding practices for all infants while scaling-up interventions to reduce HIV transmission.

The five recommended actions include the need for ensuring support for optimal infant and young child feeding for all, including the need for BFHI, as requisites to successful counselling of the HIV-positive mother:

  1. Develop or revise (as appropriate) a comprehensive national infant and young child feeding policy that includes HIV and infant feeding.
  2. Implement and enforce the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes and subsequent relevant World Health Assembly Resolutions.
  3. Intensify efforts to protect, promote and support appropriate infant and young child feeding practices in general, while recognizing HIV as one of a number of exceptionally difficult circumstances.
    This action specifically includes a call for revitalization and scale-up of coverage of the Baby-friendly Hospital Initiative and to extend it beyond hospitals, including through the establishment of breastfeeding support groups. It also encourages making provision for expansion of activities to prevent HIV transmission to infants and young children hand-in-hand with promotion of BFHI principles. HIV/Infant Feeding counselling training recommendations from WHO/UNICEF note that BFHI or other breastfeeding support training should precede training on infant feeding counselling for the HIV-positive mother.
  4. Provide adequate support to HIV-positive women to enable them to select the best feeding option for themselves and their babies, to successfully carry out their infant feeding decisions.
  5. Support research on HIV and infant feeding, including operations research, learning, monitoring and evaluation at all levels, and disseminate findings.

In 2005, the fifteenth anniversary of the Innocenti Declaration, an assessment of progress and challenges was carried out, culminating in a second Innocenti Declaration 2005 on Infant and Young Child Feeding, highlighting the importance of early initiation of breastfeeding, suggesting ways to strengthen action on breastfeeding and outlining urgent activities for the nine operational areas of the Global Strategy.

BFHI Section 1, Background and Implementation, presents a methodology for encouraging nations to reinvigorate, restore or launch the BFHI in today’s realities, facilitating the changes needed in maternity facilities, practices, and health worker training in those facilities, in accordance with the WHO and UNICEF “Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding.” The original documents written during the 1990s have been revised to take into account the current global context, with consideration given to HIV/AIDS, to address obstacles to the processes that have been encountered over the years, and include recent evidence-based findings related to infant and young child feeding. The Annexes to Section 1.1 include Annex 1: a summary framework for implementation at the national level, Annex 2: suggested questions for a self-assessment, Annex 3: excerpts from recent publications that may be helpful in sensitisation of decision-makers regarding the importance of early and exclusive breastfeeding and Annex 4: an illustration of how breastfeeding is essential for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Getting Started

Most countries have taken steps to start national Baby-friendly campaigns, including vigorous steps towards improved support to breastfeeding in hospitals, actions to protect breastfeeding by national policy implementation, and public promotion campaigns. The recommendations and steps below are presented to help re-invigorate, restore, modify or strengthen such national initiatives, or to help launch such activities where none exist.

The Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding, a summary of the guidelines for maternity care facilities presented in the Joint WHO/UNICEF Statement Protecting, Promoting and Supporting Breastfeeding: The Special Role of Maternity Services, (WHO, 1989) have been accepted as the minimum global criteria for attaining the status of a Baby-friendly Hospital.

TEN STEPS TO SUCCESSFUL BREASTFEEDING

Every facility providing maternity services and care for newborn infants should

  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. Give newborn infants no food or drink other than breastmilk unless medically indicated.
  7. Practise 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.

The process of becoming a baby-friendly hospital is outlined in Section 1.2. In brief, it is a process that starts with self-appraisal by the facility. This initial self-assessment includes an analysis of the practices that encourage or hinder breastfeeding, and then helps identify the actions that will help to make the necessary changes. It follows the accepted triple-A sequence (Assessment, Analysis and Action), which characterises much of UNICEF Programme development. After a facility is satisfied that it meets a high standard, this achievement is confirmed objectively by an external assessment of whether the facility has achieved, or nearly achieved, the “Global Criteria” for BFHI and thus can be awarded the Global Baby-friendly Hospital designation and plaque.

The key documents that serve to guide the Baby-friendly Hospital Initiative are Section 1: Background and Implementation - the guidelines for implementation of the Initiative that include initiation at the country and hospital levels, compliance with the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes, and approaches to expansion, integration and sustainability; Section 2: Strengthening and sustaining the Baby-friendly Hospital Initiative - a course for decision-makers adapted from “Promoting breast-feeding in health facilities a short course for administrators and policy-makers”; Section 3: the BFHI Training Course - with updated content for HIV, maternity practices and emergencies; Sections 4: Self-Appraisal and Monitoring; and Section 5: External Assessment and Reassessment.

Five Steps in Implementing BFHI at the Country Level

(also see Section 1.1, Annex 1)

Today many countries’ BFHI programmes are well underway. Therefore, this section will offer a five-step approach, based on what has been used for more than a decade with modifications for today’s circumstances. This section addresses both those settings where there is no BFHI or it has become quiescent, as well as those where the BFHI effort is ongoing. Each step includes suggested activities. These five essential steps are summarised on page 13, including the process, the inputs and outputs associated with them.

Step 1: Establish, re-energize, or plan a meeting of the National Breastfeeding, Infant and Young Child Feeding, or Nutrition Authority, to establish or assess its functions related to BFHI

If your country has an established national authority, ensure that it is up to the current standards as outlined in the Global Strategy for Infant and Young Child Feeding. If not, the following provides guidance for its membership and functions.

1A. Who are the members of a National Authority?

According to the Global Strategy, the national authority should be multi-sectoral. The National Authority should not be confined to the medical of health sector. Possible composition would include:

  • Representative(s) of the national government’s health and nutrition sector that supports women and children’s health outcomes,
  • Representative(s) of the national government’s financial planning,
  • Representative(s) of the national government’s social sector,
  • Technical representative(s) from the academic sector,
  • Community action leadership, such as NGOs, and
  • Representative(s) from committee(s) that supports BFHI and/or Code implementation,
  • Communications specialist,
  • Monitoring and evaluation specialist.

1B. What is the role of the National Authority in relation to BFHI?

The national authority will have government endorsement to have oversight of all nine Global Strategy targets, as operationalised in the four major action areas: 1) national policy and legislation, 2) health system and health worker standards, reform and related actions, 3) multi-sectoral mobilisation and community action, and 4) special circumstances. As such the primary roles are to:

  • strategise and plan national IYCF activities;
  • oversee implementation of specific activity areas such as BFHI and the Code; and
  • monitor and evaluate the status of programmes and activities as well as the outcomes in terms of changes in feeding behaviours.

These activities demand ongoing assessment and feedback. Therefore, the national authority must also:

  • advocate for data collection, both ongoing in health systems as well as periodic surveys,
  • be mandated by the national or regional government, and
  • have support and funding in the national or regional financial plan and budget.

The specific roles and responsibilities of the national authority include:

  • Coordinating and fostering collaboration across Ministries, stipulating a process for sustainable reassessment, e.g., via insurance, taxes.
  • Incorporating support for breastfeeding and complementary feeding into ongoing mechanisms.
  • Setting goals based on international standards. In general:
    -

    The goal for early initiation should be that newborns are placed skin-to-skin within minutes of birth, remaining for 60 minutes or longer, with all mothers encouraged to support the infant to breastfeed when their babies show signs of readiness.

    -

    The goal for exclusive breastfeeding, as determined at the UN Standing Committee on Nutrition, 2004, should be to increase exclusive breastfeeding to 6 months of age to a minimum of 60% by 2015, with the ultimate goal of approaching 100%.

    Note: in countries where women receive voluntary counselling for HIV/AIDS, a proportion of these women will choose replacement feeding. Even though some of the HIV-positive women will choose exclusive breastfeeding, in such settings, the ultimate goal will remain less than 100%.

    -

    The goal for complementary feeding, as determined at the UN Standing Committee on Nutrition, 2004, from 6 months to 23 months or longer, is that breastfeeding continue to supply 350–500 calories a day, and an additional 3–5 feedings of nutrient rich complementary foods is needed, as described under “optimal feeding”.

  • Achieving stated IYCF goals. Therefore, a regular budget and budget line must be identified by the government from governmental sources to support these functions.
  • Overseeing standards for health worker training and legislation to protect optimal infant and young child feeding, such as undergraduate health worker curricula, working with professional organizations to upgrade standards of practice, and legislation to implement the Code of Marketing and maternity protection.
  • Adapting criteria for baby-friendly expansion into the community and other expansion approaches (see section 1.5).
  • Incorporating baby-friendly principles into any and all related health (e.g., Saving Newborn Lives, C-IMCI), nutrition (e.g., Ending Child Hunger and Undernutrition Initiative, work on MDGs) or social programmes (e.g., Early Child Development).
  • Providing technical oversight and review as necessary of the BFHI Coordination Group’s assessments – including how it administers self-appraisals, assessments and re-assessment at least once every 3–5 years.
  • Overseeing ethics of the designation processes and insure avoidance of conflict of interest, whether with a manufacturer, training programme, or other, that may bias assessments and designations.
  • Carrying out, at least annually, an assessment and evaluation of health service data on breastfeeding and complementary feeding for baby-friendly-designated facilities and other settings.

In addition, the National Authority will develop a multi-year plan of action and associated budget for government support and consideration, and will meet regularly to assess progress against each goal, as well as to assess progress on agreed upon objectives.

Step 2: Identify – or re-establish – national BFHI goals and approaches

Many countries have BFHI committees and goals in place, but they may or may not be part of current comprehensive or integrated health system and health worker training policies and plans. The first step is to ensure that these goals are currently part of national or regional programming. If there has not been recent action on these goals, consider conducting a rapid baseline survey or literature review of country-level breastfeeding and complementary feeding practices, support activities, number and location of facilities previously designated, and status of those facilities to assess current standards of practice. (see the sample questionnaire for rapid assessment in Annex 2 of this Section 1.1.).

The concept of BFHI is no longer limited to the Ten Steps in maternities, but has been adapted to include many possibilities for expansion into other parts of the health system, including maternal care, paediatrics, health clinics, and physicians’ offices, and into other sectors and venues such as community, commercial sector, and agricultural or educational systems. Baby-friendly care concepts derived from the Ten Steps can also be provided in tandem with other international initiatives, such as Community IMCI or HIV/AIDS/PMTCT programming.

The National Authority may decide to include some of these new components and emphases in developing a new, greater picture of Baby-friendly care in the local context. Some examples of these options are presented later in the Section 1.5: Expansion and Integration Possibilities.

Step 3: Identify, designate or develop a BFHI Coordination Group (BCG)

Coordinating the BFHI designation process may or may not be considered to be additional role for the National Breastfeeding, Infant and Young Child Feeding, or Nutrition Authority. However, it is highly recommended that these be at least two separate groups, both recognized by the government, so that the National Authority might provide oversight for the activities of the other, and so that there is a place that a facility might seek recourse if there is any question concerning the designation process.

3A. Who selects the BFHI Coordination Group?

The National Authority, whether located in the Ministry of Health, another Ministry, or as a government-sanctioned NGO, will assist the government in the designation of a BFHI Coordination Group and maintain oversight with intent to ensure ongoing quality assurance and a code of ethics. The national government may choose to designate this group, with confirmation by the National Authority, or vice versa.

3B. What are the roles of this Group?

The BFHI Coordination Group (BCG) is responsible for coordinating the process and procedures for facility designation. The BCG itself may or may not carry out the assessments for designation, depending on the number of facilities in the country, the structure of the group, and the resources available. Alternatively, the BCG could serve to ensure that all BFH Designating Committees or Designating Processes continue to use standardized procedures (see Step 5).

The BCG is responsible for acquiring the BFH designation posters from the UNICEF supply catalogue or through locally developed image creation, and for having the BFHI designation plaques printed in the local language, with specified dates of designation and end of designation period. Specifications for the plaques are available from UNICEF or WHO representatives.

The BFH Designating Committees (BDCs) may be considered arms of the BCG. These committees are qualified by the BCG to carry out assessments and recommend facilities for Designation. “Designation” means the formal recognition by the BCG that there is conformity with the BFHI Hospital Assessment Criteria (see Section 1.2).

There are at least eight models for development of the BCG and the approach to assessment and credentialing/designating hospitals and maternities as “Baby-friendly”:

  1. Develop, legislate and regulate standards for health facilities that include the components of BFHI. In this model, there would be no BCG aside from the oversight by the National Authority. Legislating BFHI will support sustainability; however, without activities to ensure the quality of the activity, this model could result in superficial activities alone. Therefore this model would require ongoing monitoring and enforcement regulations in the legislation.
  2. Incorporate Baby-friendly assessment criteria into national health facility credentialing board procedures that are national standards for all hospitals and maternities. In some countries, such credentialing is under the auspices of the professional societies, in others a separate association is established to provide quality assurance. In this case, the national board would serve the function of the BCG, and regular re-credentialing would be sustained. This probably is the most cost-efficient option, however, technical oversight by the national authority may be necessary.
  3. Encourage a professional organization or professional network to include BFHI in its mandate. For example, in Australia, the professional society of nurse-midwifery is the BCG and is responsible for assessments. This could be with or without government support. BFHI could, logically, be the responsibility of any health profession that serves mothers and newborns and could designate, with National Authority oversight. This model would appear to offer enhanced quality control; however, some professional societies do not have the structural or fiscal base to take on this task.
  4. Establish a system whereby facilities assess each other and help each other to achieve designation status. This model reduces the burden and the costs for the central authority, in that there only need be spot checks as to ongoing status, and would lessen the load for the BDC. However, with this reduced direct oversight, there may be a risk of collusion or other biases.
  5. Allow one professional organisation or other NGO, independent of the National Authority, to take responsibility for designation. This approach, similar to 3, above, without oversight, reduces the costs for governments and allows independence in assessment, but it may lead to breeches in quality assurance and may result in conflict of interest, e.g., if the NGO also provides and charges for training, charges for preparation for assessment, and charges for helping the facility to improve if they fail the assessment may be practicing with inherent conflict of interest. In some settings, charges for the assessments may be prohibitive for smaller facilities or those in poorer settings. This last option is currently functioning in many countries. If selected, there are modifications (6 and 7, below) that could provide checks and balances for this approach.
  6. Allow any interested professional organization or NGO to apply to the National Authority for the right to coordinate the designation process (BCG) or to serve as a designating committee (BDC). One or more NGOs could be approved by the National Authority to create a network of BDCs or carry out the assessments and designations themselves, depending on the number of facilities and the capacity of the NGO. The National Authority would be the organization that oversees this and grants the designations. There is a possibility of competition between NGOs that could be minimized by regional responsibility and careful oversight (see 7 below).
  7. Allow any interested professional organization or NGO to apply to the National Authority for the right to coordinate the designation process (BCG) or to serve as a designating committee (BDC) for a specific region of the country. This approach is similar to 5 and 6 above, however, it includes aspects of oversight while reducing the possibility of inappropriate competitive activities. This approach may present a greater administrative burden for the National Authority.
  8. While not ideal, UNICEF country offices may assist this function for a very limited period of time until the National Authority and BCG are established.

Many other constructs are possible, but each should be examined for sustainability, cost containment and insurance of oversight or checks and balances to ensure ongoing quality.

Regardless of the approach selected, it is essential that all necessary measures are taken to avoid a) any compromise to the high standards required for BFHI accreditation and b) any conflict of interest. Particular care should be taken where the national authority has given the BFHI designation group responsibility for delivering or monitoring standards of clinical care, or for delivering general health professional education and/or for providing specific breastfeeding training. The National Authority (as described above) is essential for oversight or quality and ethical considerations.

Step 4: The National Authority:
a) ensures that the BFHI Coordinating Group fulfils its responsibility to provide, directly or indirectly through BFHI Designating Committees, the initial or ongoing assessments of facilities,
b) helps plan training and curriculum revision,
c) ensures that the national health information system includes a record of feeding status on all contacts with children under 2 years of age, and
d) develops and implements a monitoring and evaluation plan

Note: if the BFHI program is ongoing, it may not be necessary to carry out all parts of this step, as there may be an existing record of current status, a roster of trainers and assessors, and a training plan ongoing, with curriculum revisions being enacted. However, the BFHI may not as yet include health information system updates to ensure that feeding status of all children is recorded.

4A. Ensuring that the BFHI Coordinating Group fulfils its responsibility to provide, directly or indirectly through BDCs, the initial or ongoing assessments of facilities

Once the National Authority has developed the BCG, initial assessments of current status of the BFHs should be the next activity. No matter which model of BCG is instituted, initial assessments should be carried out by specially trained local or external assessors. Following the assessment or review of current status, establishing if there is a roster of individuals with expertise to serve as 1) local assessors, 2) trainers for each level of training, 3) curriculum specialists, and 4) health information system specialists, plans may be developed to engage these individuals in these tasks. If there is not a sufficient number of individuals with each of these skill areas, consider holding further trainings or sending individuals to regional or global training courses.

Current regional and global training courses can be accessed at: http://www.unicef.org/nutrition/index_events.html or at http://www.who.int or on the Nutrition Quarterly, last section, found in the right hand column of: http://www.unicef.org/nutrition/index_bigpicture.html.

The National Authority has the authority to modify or change the BCG as needed to maintain the function of ongoing assessment and designation.

4B. Helps plan training and curriculum revision

Once the needs and the rosters are available, the needed curriculum revisions and trainings should be planned. Based on the assessed needs, a plan should be developed for carrying out the 20-hour course in every facility as well as for periodically conducting curricula updates. In addition, special training should be ensured for those health workers who will serve as the referral expert lactation consultants. The trainings should be carried out by individuals with appropriate training and skills. It is reasonable to develop a phased plan, so that those trained in one facility may support trainings in a near-by site. It is important that there be on-site ongoing training by supervisors, as well. Therefore, each BFH facility must have on staff individuals with significantly more training, such as a Certified Lactation Consultant or other certified specialists on this issue.

If BFHI assessors are available and facilities are ready, assessment may begin immediately without waiting for the training plans to be implemented. If there is an insufficient number to carry out assessments, all levels of training, and/or curricula reform, the plan should address these needs.

Even where few births take place in facilities, training may be necessary to create a standard of care and to ensure that all health care personnel are skilled in breastfeeding protection, promotion and support. In addition, consideration should be given to development of “Baby-friendly” community designation (see Section 1.5), or other national programme approaches to ensure support for early, exclusive and continued breastfeeding with age-appropriate complementary feeding. These efforts can be linked to facilities directly, or through health or social systems, to ensure consistency in messages and support approaches.

Phased work should begin immediately, with all training materials and curricula updates developed, and sufficient resources identified to complete this work in a timely manner.

In addition to BFHI materials, National Authorities should consider providing handbooks such as “Protecting Infant Health: A Health Workers’ Guide to the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes”, a basic breastfeeding support manual, and a summary of local regulations, law and policy.

4C. Ensuring that national health information system includes a record of feeding status on all contacts with children under 2 years old

This new responsibility, developed to address the operational objectives of the Global Strategy and other programme needs, dealing with the Ministry of Health, academia, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Plan, and Demographics, depending on which has the responsibility for data collection. Existing health information systems should be amended to include the new growth standards of WHO, notation on feeding pattern at each contact with mothers and children under age 2, and regular planned review by health practitioners.

In addition, the National Authority should review the summaries of these records, as well as periodic surveys, to assess progress and area where programme adjustment may be necessary.

4D. Monitoring and evaluation plan

The National Authority is responsible for keeping records and supporting the planning necessary to ensure that all facilities are encouraged or mandated to follow the BFHI criteria. In addition, this body will review all available data and ensure that analyses are carried out, in collaboration with Health information system directorate and national statistics offices, and the information used to improve programming and further the IYCF goals.

Step 5: BFHI Coordination Group coordinates facility-level assessments, re-assessments and designation of “Baby-friendly” status

“Baby-friendly” assessments and designations may begin as soon as the BCG, with or without BDCs, is established by the National Authority, and after the facilities carry out the self-assessment and consider themselves compliant with the “Ten Steps”. Designations should be based on an assessment as per national guidelines and should be monitored, and, where necessary, probationary periods established. Once designation is achieved, the designation must be for a pre-set number of months or years, based on in-country experience with duration of compliance. The date of designation, as well as the end date of the period of designation, must be posted on the designation plaque. If this is a new programme, it is suggested that designation not be for a period greater than 3 years.

If facilities fail to be in compliance when re-assessed, they will be allowed one additional opportunity to achieve the necessary standards. If facilities only fail on a few steps or Global Criteria, they can be retested just on these specific components. If the areas in which they lack compliance are major, a full “reassessment” should be scheduled. The second reassessment (either partial or full) will determine if the “Baby-friendly” designation must be removed, or if a new plaque, with the new date of obsolescence, will be granted.

Re-assessment is necessary prior to the date when designation will elapse. Records should be kept by the National Authority of the status of every maternity facility in the country, and every effort should be made to achieve 100% designation. [N.B. criteria and assessment tools have been adapted to allow for settings where there is a high incidence of HIV-positive mothers].

If a facility has 1) a designation that has expired, or 2) been observed/reported as having experienced deterioration of its adherence to the Ten Steps, the BCG, or the BDC as its agent, should arrange for a reassessment. The expiration dates should be kept on record by the BCG/BDC and arrangements should be initiated in a timely manner for reassessment. Between assessments, if a health professional or other observer reports deterioration, the facility should be notified and asked for response. If the BCG/BDC finds the response inadequate, an interim visit can be arranged.

If a designation has expired or a facility is found to be non-compliant during the term of its designation, the National Authority should remove any designation plaques and remove this hospital from the list of those facilities that are designated as “Baby-friendly” until such time as re-assessment and restoration of status occurs. A probationary period may be granted, with a quality assessment team sent to work with the facility if needed, and then reassessment arranged, before resorting to removal of the plaque. These steps will depend in part on which model has been established by the National Authority for assessment.

In most case the National Authority is responsible for the formal presentation of the designation, but may assign this role to the BCG, which is responsible for acquiring the designation posters from the UNICEF supply catalogue and for having the designation plaques printed in the local language. Specifications for the plaques are available on the UNICEF intranet.

The BCG should develop a plan, to be approved by the National Authority, to ensure designation of all public and private facilities nation-wide, and re-designation of those facilities that have failed to maintain standards, and whose designation has been rescinded.

Section 1.1, Annex 1 presents a simplified table with the basic inputs and outputs for each of these 5 steps.

National Criteria for Baby-friendly Community Designation

In order to ensure community support, as outlined in Step 10 of the BFHI, there is a need to more actively involve the community in support of optimal IYCF. The concept of “Baby-friendly Communities” emerged from the recognition that Step 10 was the least likely to be fully effective in practice. In some countries, there are established criteria for Baby-friendly Community Health Services. This approach is applicable where not all of the population has ready access to facilities, and may work best where community services fully reach all mothers and children.

In settings where the health system outreach may not be as comprehensive, a national effort to create Baby-friendly Communities may be necessary to achieve optimal feeding practices. The Model National Baby-friendly Community components presented here are provided as a basis for discussion with the community concerning its needs, reflecting on all applicable Global Criteria for the BFHI (the Ten Steps, the Code, mother-friendly care, and HIV and infant feeding). Locally developed criteria should be developed with the participation of community political and social leadership, both male and female, committed to making a change in support of optimal IYCF, and of all health facilities that are designated “Baby-friendly” and actively support both early and exclusive breastfeeding (0–6 months).

Baby-friendly Community planning might include:

  1. community leadership;
  2. representatives of healthcare facilities, especially those that are baby-friendly;
  3. those who support in-home and community-based births.

Baby-friendly Community criteria might include:

  1. All local health workers have appropriate breastfeeding support and maternity support training.
  2. All workers know where and how to refer for additional care.
  3. Support for mothers is available in the community to assist mothers in making appropriate choices and succeeding with them.
  4. Mother-to-mother support system, or similar, is in place.
  5. No practices, distributors, shops or services violate the International Code (as applicable) in the community.
  6. Local government or civil society has convened, created and supports implementation of at least one political or social normative change and/or additional activity to support mothers and families.

It is also suggested that simplified job-aids for assisting and for assessing home deliveries (including those performed by skilled midwives and, if possible, traditional birth attendants) have been developed and are in use.

More detail on the development of the Baby-friendly Community approach, other expansion and mainstreaming approaches are available in Section 1.5.

Section 1.1 - Annex 1. Five Steps in Implementing BFHI at the Country Level: Suggested Inputs and Outputs

StepInputsOutputs
1. Establish, re-energize, or plan a meeting of the National Authority (Breastfeeding, Infant and Young Child Feeding, or Nutrition Authority) to establish or assess its functions related to BFHI.Government commitment to the Global Strategy for Infant and Young Child Feeding, including BFHI evidenced by willingness to incorporate support into national budget or national accrediting approach.
Review of existing data on breastfeeding, and BFHI if already established, completed. (if data are not available), rapid baseline survey(s) of country-level breastfeeding practices, support, and status using short questionnaire or WHO implementation planning tool carried out and analysed.		Government supported or endorsed National Authority established, with commitment to developing/strengthening BFHI.
Analysis of current status on IYCF and BFHI completed, with listing of all national facilities and their BFHI status.
2. Identify - or re-establish - national BFHI goals and approaches.Necessary meetings and functions convened by National Authority to identify national goals, specific and measurable objectives and indicators, and possible expansion/integration approaches to BFHI in the local context.Five-year strategic plan with budget for the National Authority and BFHI-associated activities created.
3. Identify, designate or develop a BFHI Coordination Group (BCG), and, where appropriate, BFHI Designating Committees (BDCs).Most appropriate BCG option identified by the National Authority for their setting and resources based on the decisions concerning BFHI and possible expansions areas.
The BCG plan of action in response to the 5-year strategic plan presented to the National Authority for approval and support.		A sustainable approach has been selected.
BCG and/or procedures and processes for designation that might include BDCs established and approved by National Authority and recognized by government. BCG activated.
4. Ensure:
  1. that the BCG fulfils its responsibility to provide, directly or indirectly, the initial or ongoing assessments of facilities,
  2. development of a plan for pre-and in-service curricula revision (if needed) and BFHI training,
  3. that national health information system includes a record of feeding status on all contacts with children under 2 years of age, and
  4. monitoring and evaluation plan.
Regular reports provided by BCG to the National Authority.
Meetings/functions as necessary to review content of curricula of all health workers and auxiliary workers, convened by National Authority.
Support for curricula revision identified, with National Authority assistance as necessary.
Coverage and analyses discussed/ensured through meetings of the National Authority with Health information system directorate and national statistics offices.		Feedback is provided by the National Authority to the BCG, and to Government and civil society.
Training and curricula are updated.
HIS records of feeding pattern and growth for all children under age 2+ are available and analysed.
Periodic surveys on feeding patterns are conducted.
Analyses carried out to identify programme adjustments necessary.
5. Coordinate facility-level assessments, re-assessments and designation of “Baby-friendly” status.BCG instituted plan of action, including the training of BDCs if determined necessary to meet national goals, with assistance as needed from National Authority.BCG form and function, including the possibility of subsidiary BDC, is finalised and functioning.
Facilities, communities, etc. are assessed and designations made in accordance with plan.
Plan reviewed regularly for feasibility and adaptation if needed.

Section 1.1 - Annex 2. Suggested questions for a rapid baseline country assessment, to include literature review and key informant interviews

Where there is already an active National Authority or BFHI programme, ensure that data are available to fully answer

  1. What is the status of BFHI?
    • How is assessment carried out?
    • What group grants the designation?
    • How is it funded?
    • Is there any potential conflict of interest in its functions?
    • How many and what percent of hospitals have ever been designated?
    • What percentage of births take place in facilities currently designated as Baby Friendly?
    • How many of these have been assessed or re-assessed in the last 3–5 years and found to be in compliance?
    • What percentage of facilities continues to be in compliance?
  2. Is there a list of the names and locations of all maternities, hospital-based or free-standing, in the country?
  3. Is there a list of the names, locations, and contact individuals of all BFH-designated facilities, with date of initial designation and dates of re-assessments/re-designations?
  4. What are the names and addresses of trained external assessors and BFHI trainers, as well as other national expertise, such as Certified Lactation Consultants or Fellows of the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine?
  5. What is the current status and enforcement of law related to the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes?
  6. What are the current standards of practice promulgated by professional medical and healthcare organizations?
  7. What are the trends and levels of immediate postpartum breastfeeding? Exclusive breastfeeding in the first 6 months? Continued breastfeeding at about 2 years?
  8. What are the local complementary feeding practices? Have the 10 Principles of Complementary Feeding been adopted/initiated?
  9. What are the names, descriptions and contacts for all IYCF-supportive programmes in country, including HIV/IF counselling, emergency preparedness agencies, extension workers in the agricultural or social arenas, etc.?
  10. What additional related services and structures could help support IYCF?

Where there is not as yet an active BFHI programme, gather current baseline information

Suggested approach: Interview 25 key informants, selected from among knowledgeable individuals in both public and private health sectors, non-governmental infant and young child feeding support, or other persons familiar with hospital activities, and request copies of any standards of practice, curricula, lists, laws or contacts mentioned.

  1. Have any studies been carried out on feeding practices of infants and young children, whether by nutrition, health, reproductive health or other interest groups?
  2. Have any surveys or other data collection instruments been used to assess:
    -

    immediate postpartum breastfeeding rates,

    -

    six months exclusive breastfeeding rates,

    -

    and/or

    -

    continued breastfeeding with complementary feeding?

    -

    are there any trend data for any of these patterns?

  3. Are there government policies or laws that pertain to infant and young child feeding?
    -

    for hospitals/maternities?

    -

    for the commercial sector? Is there a national law implementing the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes and subsequent WHA resolutions?

    -

    for the workplace?

    -

    for emergencies?

    -

    for HIV/AIDS?

  4. What training courses or curricula exist to train:
    -

    health workers in the “Breastfeeding Promotion and Support in a BFHI hospital” (20-hour course)?

    -

    trainers for facilitating the 20-hour course?

    -

    specialists in lactation support to act as referral/resource people?

    -

    assessors or credentialing boards?

    -

    health workers trained in “Infant and Young Child Feeding Counselling: an integrated course”?

    -

    other? Specify.

  5. Do you know of any Academic Centres involved in supporting Infant and Young Child Feeding? (list all with contacts). Please explain whether this is training, research, and/or support of staff to breastfeed.
  6. What Professional Societies are active in the area of Infant and Young Child Feeding and who are the contacts? Do they have standards of practice for their specialty?
  7. What group certifies hospitals and maternities?
  8. Do you know of any NGOs involved in supporting Infant and Young Child Feeding? (list all with contacts)
  9. Do you know of any government, NGO or community entities involved in supporting and/or monitoring:
    -

    Infant and Young Child Feeding related activities?

    -

    BFHI?

    -

    International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes?

    -

    Any other issue that relates to mothers or children, whether health, social, or other sector?

  10. Do you know of any data bases that are maintained regularly on any aspect of IYCF? (list all with contacts).
  11. Do you know any individuals, or rosters of individuals, with:
    -

    Experience of conducting BFHI assessments?

    -

    Specialist training and experience dealing with unusual or difficult breastfeeding situations?

    -

    Training in breastfeeding support skills?

    -

    Training in providing support for infant feeding in the context of HIV and support for the non-breastfed infant?

    -

    Training on Code-related issues such as development of legislation of the Code, monitoring and enforcement?

    -

    Training in emergency settings, including relactation and therapeutic feeding?

    -

    Experience in facilitating training in breastfeeding for health workers? (develop lists).

  12. What resources are available to support BFHI? From what sources? Is this support sustainable?
  13. Are there additional breastfeeding support activities in other health/nutrition/social/development programming?
  14. Do you know of any government agency(ies) or individuals who are interested in supporting IYCF?

Section 1.1 - Annex 3. Excerpts from recent WHO, UNICEF, and other global publications and releases

Occasionally, those implementing BFHI in a country may need to call upon excerpts from globally recognized sources to support their actions and plans. This section is provided to address this need.

From UNICEF Press Release, September 2007

“Much of the progress reflected [reduction in number of child deaths from 13 million in 1990 to 9.7 million] is due to widespread adoption of basic health interventions such as early and exclusive breastfeeding…”

http://www.unicef.org/childsurvival/index_40850.html

From WHO Statement on Infant Feeding and HIV

“Exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months is recommended for all women, and for HIV-infected women unless replacement feeding is acceptable, feasible, affordable, sustainable and safe (AFASS), in which case all breastfeeding should be avoided and infants should receive replacement feeding from birth”.

“After 6 months, breastfeeding should be continued unless AFASS replacement feeding is available”.

From Innocenti +15

“Current challenges only reinforce the need to act rapidly in support of infant and young child feeding”.

“Scientific evidence, the Global Strategy for Infant and Young Child Feeding, and demonstrated results from national and other large-scale programmes provide a sound foundation for moving forward. This requires government and donor commitment to: Increase resources for infant and young child feeding....Implement the Global Strategy for Infant and Young Child Feeding [and] Apply existing knowledge and experience”.

“Exclusive breastfeeding is the leading preventive child survival intervention. Nearly two million lives could be saved each year through six months of exclusive breastfeeding and continued breastfeeding with appropriate complementary feeding for up to two years or longer. The lasting impact of improved feeding practices is healthy children who can achieve their full potential for growth and development”.

“New scientific evidence and programmatic experience place child advocates in a better position now than in 1990 to protect, promote, and support improved infant and young child feeding practices. Yet the majority of health professionals and community workers have not been adequately educated or trained to put the knowledge and skills into practice. Appropriate materials and guidelines exist and should urgently be taken to scale for pre-service and in-service training and for policy and program assessment, implementation, and monitoring. As forcefully stated by the executive heads of WHO and UNICEF in their forward to the Global Strategy for Infant and Young Child Feeding, There can be no delay in applying the accumulated knowledge and experience to help make our world a truly fit environment where all children can thrive and achieve their full potential”.

From UNICEF Executive Director Ann M Veneman for World Breastfeeding Week, 2005

“If we are to fulfill the promise of the Millennium Declaration and the Millennium Development Goals, we must renew our attention to those interventions that are effective, affordable and have significant impact. Improvements in breastfeeding and complementary feeding are essential for success in child survival, in reducing hunger, and to ensure that children develop in a manner that they may best benefit from education and opportunity”.

“UNICEF applauds the commitment of all of those involved in support of child survival through optimal infant and young child feeding in the celebration of this year’s World Breastfeeding Week”.

From “Investing in Development: Practical Plan to Achieve the Millennium Development Goals”. 2005, Millennium Project, New York, p. 26 “The Quick Wins needed to be embedded in the longer term investment policy framework of the MDG-based poverty reduction strategy”

“[In the design of] community nutrition programs that support breastfeeding, provide access to locally produced complementary foods, and, where needed, provide micronutrient…supplementation for pregnant and lactating women…”.

From World Health Assembly 2004

From: Global strategy on diet, physical activity and health A57/9 and WHA 57/17

“11. Maternal health and nutrition before and during pregnancy, and early infant nutrition may be important in the prevention of non-communicable diseases throughout the life course. Exclusive breastfeeding for six months and appropriate complementary feeding contribute to optimal physical growth and mental development”.

From: Family and health in the context of the tenth anniversary of the International Year of the Family A57/12

“6. Almost 50% of all infant deaths in developing countries occur in the first 28 days after birth. As most infants in these countries are born at home, improvements in facility-based services will address only part of the problem and must be complemented by interventions in the home and community. A few simple interventions, such as aiding birth with skilled attendants, keeping the neonate warm, initiating breastfeeding early and recognizing and treating common infections, will greatly increase chances of neonatal survival”.

From A57/18 Biennial Updates: E. Infant and Young Child Nutrition: Biennial Progress Report 48

“Despite overall improvements in exclusive breastfeeding …, practices fall far short of WHO’s global public health recommendation: exclusive breastfeeding for six months followed by safe and appropriate complementary feeding with continued breastfeeding for up to two years of age or beyond (resolution WHA54.2)”.

Fifty-Seventh World Health Assembly WHA57.14, Agenda item 12.1 22 May 2004

“Scaling up treatment and care within a coordinated and comprehensive response to HIV/AIDS

2. URGES Member States, as a matter of priority: (3) to pursue policies and practices that promote:

(h) integration of nutrition into a comprehensive response to HIV/AIDS; (i) promotion of breastfeeding in the light of the United Nations Framework for Priority Action on HIV and Infant Feeding and the new WHO/UNICEF Guidelines for Policy-Makers and Health-Care Managers”.

Section 1.1 - Annex 4. The contribution of Breastfeeding and Complementary Feeding to achieving the Millennium Development Goals4

Goal Number and TargetsContribution of Infant and Young Child feeding5
1Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people whose income is less than $1 a day, and who suffer from hunger.		Breastfeeding significantly reduces early childhood feeding costs, and exclusive breastfeeding halves the cost of breastfeeding6. Exclusive breastfeeding and continued breastfeeding for two years is associated with reduction in underweight7 and is an excellent source of high quality calories for energy. By reducing fertility, exclusive breastfeeding reduces reproductive stress. Breastfeeding provides breast milk, serving as low-cost, high quality, locally produced food and sustainable food security for the child.
2Achieve universal primary education
Ensure that by 2015, children everywhere, boys and girls alike, will be able to complete a full course of primary education.		Breastfeeding and adequate complementary feeding are prerequisites for readiness to learn8.
Breastfeeding and quality complementary foods significantly contribute to cognitive development and capacity. In addition to the balance of long chain fatty acids in breast milk, which support neurological development, initial exclusive breastfeeding and complementary feeding address micronutrient and iron deficiency needs and, hence, support appropriate neurological development and enhance later school performance.
3Promote gender equality and empower women
Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education, preferably by 2005 and in all levels of education no later than 2015.		Breastfeeding is the great equalizer, giving every child a fair start on life. Most differences in growth between sexes begin as complementary foods are added into the diet, and gender preference begins to act on feeding decisions. Breastfeeding also empowers women:
-

increased birth spacing secondary to breastfeeding helps prevents maternal depletion from short birth intervals;

-

only women can provide it, enhancing women’s capacity to feed children;

-

increases focus on need for women’s nutrition to be considered.

4Reduce child mortality
Reduce by two-thirds, between 1990 and 2015, the under-five mortality rate.		By reducing infectious disease incidence and severity, breastfeeding could readily reduce child mortality by about 13%, and improved complementary feeding would reduce child mortality by about 6%.9 In addition, about 50–60% of under-5 mortality is caused by malnutrition due to inadequate complementary foods and feeding following on poor breastfeeding practices10 and, also, to low birth weight. The impact is increased in unhygienic settings. The micronutrient content of breast milk, especially during exclusive breastfeeding, and from complementary feeding can provide essential micronutrients in adequate quantities, as well as necessary levels of protein and carbohydrates.
5Improve maternal health
Reduce by three-quarters, between 1990 and 2015, the maternal mortality ratio.		The activities called for in the Global Strategy include increased attention to support for the mother’s nutritional and social needs. In addition, breastfeeding is associated with decreased maternal postpartum blood loss, breast cancer, ovarian cancer, and endometrial cancer, as well as the probability of decreased bone loss post-menopause. Breastfeeding also contributes to the duration of birth intervals, reducing maternal risks of pregnancy too close together, including lessening risk of maternal nutritional depletion from repeated, closely-spaced pregnancies. Breastfeeding promotes return of the mother’s body to pre-pregnancy status, including more rapid involution of the uterus and postpartum weight loss (obesity prevention).
6Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS.		Based on extrapolation from the published literature on the impact of exclusive breastfeeding on MTCT, exclusive breastfeeding in a population of untested breastfeeding HIV-infected population could be associated with a significant and measurable reduction in MTCT.
7Ensure environmental sustainabilityBreastfeeding is associated with decreased milk industry waste, pharmaceutical waste, plastics and aluminium tin waste, and decreased use of firewood/fossil fuels for alternative feeding preparation,11 less CO2 emission as a result of fossil fuels, and less emissions from transport vehicles as breast milk is locally produced.
8Develop a global partnership for developmentThe Global Strategy for Infant and Young Child Feeding fosters multi-sectoral collaboration, and can build upon the extant partnerships for support of development through breastfeeding and complementary feeding. In terms of future economic productivity, optimal infant feeding has major implications.
5

Early and Exclusive Breastfeeding, continued breastfeeding with complementary feeding and related maternal nutrition.

6

Bhatnagar S, Jain NP, Tiwari VK. Cost of infant feeding in exclusive and partially breastfed infants. Indian Pediatrics. 1996;33:655–658. [PubMed: 8979548]

7

Dewey KG. Cross-cultural patterns of growth and nutritional status of breast-fed infants. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 1998;67:10–17. [PubMed: 9440369]

8

Anderson JW, Johnstone BM, Remley DT. Breast-feeding and cognitive development: a meta-analysis. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 1990;70:525–535. [PubMed: 10500022]

9

Jones G, et al. How many child deaths can we prevent this year? Lancet. 2003;362:65–71. [PubMed: 12853204]

10

Pelletier D, Frongillo E. Changes in child survival are strongly associated with changes in malnutrition in developing countries. Journal of Nutrition. 2003;133:107–119. [PubMed: 12514277]

11

Labbok M. Breastfeeding as a women’s issue: conclusions and consensus, complementary concerns, and next actions. International Journal of Gynecology Obstetrics. 1994;47(Suppl):S55–S61. [PubMed: 7713307]

Footnotes

3

Kramer MS, Chalmers B, Hodnett ED, et al. PROBIT Study Group (Promotion of Breastfeeding Intervention Trial) Promotion of Breastfeeding Intervention Trial (PROBIT): a randomized trial in the Republic of Belarus. JAMA. 2001;285:413–420. [PubMed: 11242425]
Merten S, Dratva J, Ackermann-Liebrich U. Do baby-friendly hospitals influence breastfeeding duration on a national level? Pediatrics. 2005;116(5):e702–e708. [PubMed: 16263985]

4

Developed by the UN Standing Committee on Nutrition Working Group on Breastfeeding and Complementary Feeding, 2003/4.

Copyright © 2009, World Health Organization and UNICEF.

All rights reserved. Publications of the World Health Organization can be obtained from WHO Press, World Health Organization, 20 Avenue Appia, 1211 Geneva 27, Switzerland (tel: +41 22 791 3264; fax: +41 22 791 4857; email: tni.ohw@sredrokoob).

The World Health Organization and UNICEF welcome requests for permission to reproduce or translate their publications — whether for sale or for noncommercial distribution. Applications and enquiries should be addressed to WHO, Office of Publications, at the above address (fax: +41 22 791 4806; email: tni.ohw@snoissimrep or to UNICEF email: gro.fecinu@samidp with the subject: attn. nutrition section.

Bookshelf ID: NBK153475
Contents