Health Ministry Hosts Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative Focal Point Training

Today, the Ministry of Health’s Food Policy Division, in partnership with the Pan American Health Organisation/ World Health Organisation (PAHO/WHO), inaugurated the second phase of a comprehensive five-day Focal Point Training programme for the Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) at Cara Lodge, Georgetown.

Building on this legacy, last year, the Food Policy Division, in collaboration with PAHO/WHO and UNICEF, launched a nationwide Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative Programme. This initiative aims to recertify previously certified hospitals as baby-friendly and accredit other maternity and newborn services providers.

The overarching goal of the BFHI project remains steadfast to enhance infant health outcomes and save lives by championing breastfeeding promotion, protection, and support. In this phase, eleven focal points, consisting of proficient health workers specialized in midwifery and affiliated with Public Hospitals, have been identified to undergo training as trainers. These dedicated midwives will serve as the BFHI Focal Points within each region, empowered by the support of Food Policy, PAHO, and UNICEF. They will play a pivotal role in driving the implementation and facilitation of the BFHI programme across all ten regions of Guyana. 

These facility recertifications will be done as often as every two years to ensure that continued compliance with the ten steps to successful breastfeeding is maintained. 

The Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI), spearheaded by PAHO/WHO and UNICEF, was introduced in 1991 and has been instrumental in encouraging healthcare facilities worldwide to adhere to the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding. These 10 Steps include:

1. Have a written breastfeeding policy that is routinely communicated to all healthcare staff
2. Train all healthcare staff in the skills necessary to implement this policy.
3. Inform all pregnant women about the benefits and management of breastfeeding.
4. Help mothers initiate breastfeeding within a half-hour of birth.
5. Show mothers how to breastfeed, and how to maintain lactation even if they should be separated from their infants.
6. Give newborn 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 breastfeeding on demand.
9. Give no artificial teats or pacifiers (also called dummies or soothers) to breastfeeding infants.
10. Foster the establishment of breastfeeding support groups and refer mothers to them on discharge from the hospital or clinic.

Dr Ertenisa Hamilton, Director of Family and Primary Health Care Services in her remarks, said that to see more behavioural change among patients more education sessions are needed at an early stage. 

‘’The earlier you start exposing people to information, the easier it is to have the behavioural change that we’re looking for; our antenatal clinics see at least 96% so we have no room to say that there isn’t a platform for us to begin the conversation about education on breastfeeding …”, she explained.

Dr Hamilton in closing encouraged the health care workers to develop new approaches and strategies to improve health education at their respective facility. 

“Education begins within our clinics and it should even begin even before we begin clinics understanding very clearly that there are many entry points within the system where education can begin. The Ministry of Education has their health and family life education programme that is a good entry point for us to begin the conversation about nutrition especially when we look at the context of child survival”, she said.

Also present at today’s workshop were Gillian Trim Director(ag) National Breastfeeding Coordinator Food Policy Division; Ninian Blair – PAHO Consultant; Neibert Tucker BFHI Coordinator and Representative from the main public hospitals in all 10 regions.