…Again, in support of World Breastfeeding Week (August 1-7) here is my third post for the week on breastfeeding:
The harsh headline may be a bit of a stretch but it’s important to spread the understanding of the need for good community and professional support for breastfeeding.
The BFHI USA (Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative) organization works to implement the standards set by UNICEF/WHO (United Nations Children’s Fund/World Health Organization).
Per their website, the reason for such an initiative is:
“More than one million infants worldwide die every year because they are not breastfed or are given other foods too early. Millions more live in poor health, contract preventable diseases, and battle malnutrition. Although
the magnitude of this death and disease is far greater in the developing world, thousands of infants in the United States suffer the ill effects of an infant formula-feeding culture. A decreased risk of diarrhea, respiratory and ear infections, and allergic skin disorders are among the many benefits of breastfeeding to infants in the industrialized world.
In the United States, these benefits could translate into millions of dollars of savings to our health care system through decreased hospitalizations and pediatric clinic visits. For diarrhea alone, approximately 200,000 US children, most of whom are young infants, are hospitalized each year at a cost of more than half a billion dollars. Many of these cases of diarrhea could have been prevented with breastfeeding. In a study of the morbidity in an affluent US population, Dewey and colleagues found that the reduction in morbidity in breastfed babies was of sufficient magnitude to be of public significance. For example, the incidence of prolonged episodes of otitis media (ear infections) was 80% lower in breastfed as compared to non-breastfed infants. The cost savings to the health care system could be enormous if breastfeeding duration increased, given that ear infections alone cost billions of dollars a year.
It is a rare exception when a woman cannot breastfeed her baby for physical or medical reasons. Yet, a woman’s ability to feel self confident and secure with her decision to breastfeed is challenged by her family and friends, the media, and health care providers. Much has been done in the past few years to strengthen the sources of support for women to breastfeed. However, no comprehensive national program has existed that focused on the efforts of hospitals and birthing centers. Although the hospital is not and should not be the only place a mother receives support for breastfeeding, hospitals provide a unique and critical link between the breastfeeding support provided prior to and after delivery.
The Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) is a global program sponsored by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to encourage and recognize hospitals and birthing centers that offer an optimal level of care for lactation. The BFHI assists hospitals in giving breastfeeding mothers the information, confidence, and skills needed to successfully initiate and continue breastfeeding their babies and gives special recognition to hospitals that have done so.”
In order for a hospital or birthing center in the United States to make their list, they must adhere to the following: The Ten Steps To Successful Breastfeeding
1 – Maintain 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 one hour of birth.
5 – Show mothers how to breastfeed and how to maintain lactation, even if they are separated from their infants.
6 – Give infants no food or drink other than breastmilk, unless medically indicated.
7 – Practice “rooming in”– allow mothers and infants to remain together 24 hours a day.
8 – Encourage unrestricted breastfeeding.
9 – Give no pacifiers or artificial nipples to breastfeeding infants.
10 – Foster the establishment of breastfeeding support groups and refer mothers to them on discharge from the hospital or clinic
This does not seem a hard task to take on or to comply to. I think many people assume this is the care that they would or should receive at a hospital or alternative birth center. But did you know, there are only 83 hospitals in the United States that have achieved this certification? And there are none in Michigan? There are three in Ohio, with the closest being Dayton. Even with all our great medical minds in the Ann Arbor area and the great medical complexes in Detroit, no one has put forth an effort to be an effective proponent of breastfeeding. Well, that could be attributed to the $550-900 annual fee or $3000 assessment cost a hospital would have to invest. But that has got to be a small chunk of change in the big picture because if I knew of a hospital that had such a certification, that would lead me to choose them for my birthing place and we all know how much they stand to make off one birth (on average, $4000 minimum to upwards of $20,000 – and that’s for a natural, vaginal delivery).
Another kick in the pants is that there are over 19,000 supportive maternity facilities internationally. Why are we always behind in the acceptance and support of breastfeeding? Again, it could be because there are no pharmaceutical backers to a natural process so there’s no money in spreading the news about breastfeeding. Sort of off topic, but it also bothers me when formula companies state ’breastfeeding is the best food for your baby, but if you choose formula, choose ours’.
Everyone knows this is what we should be doing for our babies, so let’s get that word out.
Breastfeeding is best feeding.
This month is 
