Breast-feeding training for baby-friendly hospitals

For six consecutive days, representatives from 19 hospitals from all over Lebanon met to learn how the hospitals they represent can become “baby-friendly” through the active promotion of breast-feeding for mothers and their newborns. Training of trainers (ToT) was organized by the World Vision health programme and various partners for nurses, midwives and pediatricians, who took part in the sessions.

For six consecutive days, representatives from 19 hospitals from all over Lebanon met to learn how the hospitals they represent can become “baby-friendly” through the active promotion of breast-feeding for mothers and their newborns. Training of trainers (ToT) was organized by the World Vision health programme and various partners for nurses, midwives and pediatricians, who took part in the sessions.

“I have been a midwife for over 15 years. Yet, I am learning technical information through this training, updated material and courses I have never received before, along with the refreshment to the knowledge and background I already had,” said 40-year-old Salwa, attending the ToT and representing a hospital in Halba, in the north of Lebanon. 

Participants were trained on implementing the appropriate child feeding practices with a particular focus on the promotion and facilitation of breast-feeding, during the first hour and week of life of the newborn, as well as good complementary feeding practices.

“The ToT promotes baby-friendly hospital initiative through the endorsement of early initiation of breast-feeding and the ensuring that hospitals provide an environment supportive for breast-feeding,” said Joelle Najjar, health programmes manager at World Vision. “Among the actions taken to promote baby-friendly hospital are training of hospital staff in aspects related with breast-feeding in maternities, non-acceptance of infant formula donations and facilitation of early contact or skin to skin between mother and baby and rooming-in,” she added. 

Once the ToT is over, the attendees’ role is to give it to their peers and colleagues back in their hospitals, with the purpose of revitalizing the baby-friendly hospital initiative in Lebanon, and the dissemination of breast-feeding culture, under the support and monitoring of the World Vision health programme with the Ministry of Public Health (MOPH) and other partners. 

“Having been a nurse for over 10 years, and instructor at Saint Family University, I can tell about what is happening in the hospitals in Lebanon. Unfortunately, infant formula companies are making deals with hospitals for the promotion of their milk. The deals are good and gainful for hospitals. Thus, they have stopped being baby-friendly hospitals, let alone giving up breast-feeding,” said Mona, one of the participants in the ToT.

“Breast-feeding promotion contributes to the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) related with child survival and the eradication of poverty and hunger,” said Dr. Randa Saade, breast-feeding consultant and former representative of the World Health Organisation (WHO). “The baby-friendly hospital initiative was launched by WHO, in collaboration with UNICEF in 1991 to protect, promote and support breast-feeding, the preventive intervention most efficient to avoid infant mortality,” she added.