Assessment of compliance of baby friendly hospital initiative in tertiary care hospital, South India

Objectives To assess the compliance of a tertiary care hospital, South India with the ten steps of the Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative following the UNICEF/WHO global criteria. Design Cross-sectional study Setting Tertiary care hospital, South India Participants Staff nurses who are posted in in the obstetrics and gynaecology department and the mothers admitted antenatal, postnatal, and labour wards. Results Only 35% of the staff nurses interviewed received formal training in breastfeeding techniques. Written information about breastfeeding was given to all prenatal mothers (100%) yet, only 75% knew the importance of breastfeeding soon after delivery. Only 62.5% of babies were exclusively breastfed and 51.3% of the babies were breastfed within one hour of birth. Compliance with the Ten Steps of baby friendly initiative was 66.63%, signifying a moderate compliance overall. Conclusion The compliance to Ten steps of BFHI in low resource setting shows an overall moderate compliance. The Ten Steps of BFHI may be implemented more effectively in all medical facilities through the mother’s absolute affection Programme (MAA). More focused approaches are needed to improve the breastfeeding practices even in tertiary care settings in India. Keypoint What is already known on this topic Good breast-feeding practices are essential for reducing infant mortality. The effect of interventions by the Government on breast feeding practices especially in a tertiary care hospital setting, South India is poorly studied. What this study adds Practice of exclusive breast feeding is low. Compliance with the Ten Steps of baby friendly initiative was low even in a tertiary care setup in south India. How this study might affect research, practice and/or policy Good breast-feeding practices should be promoted in all health facilities. More focused interventions are needed to fill this gap.