Implementation guidance: protecting, promoting and supporting breastfeeding in facilities providing maternity and newborn services: the revised baby-friendly hospital initiative (2018)

The first few hours and days of a newborn’s life are a critical window for establishing lactation and for providing mothers with the support they need to breastfeed successfully. Since 1991, the Baby-friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) has helped to motivate facilities providing maternity and newborn services worldwide to better support breastfeeding. Based on the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding (the Ten Steps), the BFHI focuses on providing optimal clinical care for new mothers and their infants. There is substantial evidence that implementing the Ten Steps significantly improves breastfeeding rates.

This updated implementation guidance is intended for all those who set policy for, or offer care to, pregnant women, families and infants: governments; national managers of maternal and child health programmes in general, and of breastfeeding- and BFHI-related programmes in particular; and health-facility managers at different levels (facility directors, medical directors, chiefs of maternity and neonatal wards).

The BFHI focuses on protecting, promoting and supporting breastfeeding in facilities providing maternity and newborn services. It is understood that many other interventions are needed to ensure adequate support for breastfeeding, including in antenatal care, postpartum care, communities and workplaces, as well as adequate maternity protection and Code legislation. It is critical that the BFHI programme is integrated with all other aspects of breastfeeding protection, promotion and support.