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Baby Friendly Health Initiative

Protecting, Promoting and Supporting Breastfeeding in Australia


	Welcome to the Baby Friendly Health Initiative The Baby Friendly Health Initiative (BFHI) is an international initiativethat aims to give every baby the best start in life by creating a health care environment where breastfeeding is the norm and practices known to promote the health and well-being of all babies and their mothers are followed. The BFHI Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding are the global standard by which health services are assessed and accredited. A 'Baby Friendly' health service is one where mothers' informed choice of feeding is supported, respected and encouraged. The name change from Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative to Baby Friendly Health Initiative was to more accurately describe the work the Initiative is now doing. With exciting developments in the Community Baby Friendly section of the Initiative it was felt that this name change was a very appropriate and positive move. In Australia, the Australian College of Midwives is the Governing Body of the the Baby Friendly Health Initiative. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Success Stories In Cuba, where 49 of the country's 56 Healths and maternity facilities are baby-friendly, the rate of exclusive breastfeeding at four mounths almost tripled in six years - from 25 per cent in 1990 to 72 per cent in 1996. In the first two years of BFHI implementation at the Central Health of Libreville in Gabon, cases of neonatal diarrhoea fell by 15 per cent, diarrhoeal dehydration declined by 14 per cent and mortality fell by 8 per cent. In China, which now has more than 6,000 Baby-Friendly Health services, exclusive breastfeeding in rural areas rose from 29 per cent in 1992 to 68 per cent in 1994; in urban areas, the increase was from 10 per cent to 48 per cent. The Catholic University of Chile, Santiago, initiated one of the first Baby-Friendly Health services. As a result, initiation of breastfeeding within the first two hours increased. With a strong Step 10, a monthly clinic, exclusive breastfeeding at 6 months increased from approximately 20% to over 60%.

PO Box 87 |Deakin West ACT 2600

Ph: (02) 6230 7333 |Fax: (02) 6230 6033

Email: bfhi(at)midwives.org.au