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The Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) promotes breastfeeding for optimal infant nutrition. Nurses are crucial in facilitating BFHI implementation within hospitals to support informed infant feeding choices.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Pediatrics
- Nursing
Background:
- The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and World Health Organization (WHO) established the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) in 1991.
- BFHI aims to promote, protect, and support breastfeeding as the optimal infant nutrition method.
- Hospitals are key settings as practices initiated there influence community behaviors.
Purpose of the Study:
- To highlight the role of nurses in facilitating the implementation of the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI).
- To encourage health professionals to support informed infant feeding choices.
- To emphasize the importance of hospital-based interventions for infant nutrition.
Main Methods:
- This initiative involves encouraging health professionals to adopt specific practices.
- Focuses on educating and supporting families regarding infant feeding options.
- Leverages the role of hospitals as centers for perinatal care and education.
Main Results:
- The initiative promotes breastfeeding as the optimal method for infant nutrition.
- Empowers families to make informed decisions about infant feeding.
- Recognizes the significant impact of hospital practices on long-term infant feeding behaviors.
Conclusions:
- Nurses are identified as vital patient advocates and health promoters.
- The largest group of hospital-based healthcare workers, nurses, are essential for BFHI success.
- WHO and UNICEF call upon nurses to lead the facilitation of BFHI implementation in healthcare settings.
Abstract:
In 1991, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO) launched a global campaign called the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI). The initiative encourages health professionals to promote, protect and support breastfeeding as the optimal method of infant nutrition and enables families to make an informed choice about infant feeding. Hospitals that serve perinatal families are the focus, because what starts in the hospital carries on into the community. Recognizing the vital role of nurses as patient advocates and health promoters, and their position as the largest group of hospital-based health care workers, WHO and UNICEF are asking nurses to facilitate the implementation of the initiative in their hospitals.