The Initiative of Child Friendly Hospital (IHAN) was born thanks to the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF. Among its objectives is that mothers obtain information and can choose how to feed their newborn baby, the support of the early onset of breastfeeding, the promotion of exclusive breastfeeding during the first six months of the baby, that sales cease or donations of milk adapted to the hospitals and to advance in the creation of new aspects of attention to the mother and the baby in later stages.
The interest of IHAN is that health centers, hospitals, health services and especially maternity services, support and promote exclusive breastfeeding since the baby is born.
In summary, the minimum global guidelines and criteria that a maternity service must follow to be considered a Child Friendly Hospital are: • Provide a written policy regarding breastfeeding known to all center staff. • Train all staff to carry out this policy. • Inform pregnant women of the benefits of ML and how to do it. • Help mothers start breastfeeding within half an hour after delivery. • Show the mother how to breastfeed the child and how to maintain breastfeeding even if she is separated from the child. • Do not give newborns more than breast milk. • Facilitate the cohabitation of the mother and child 24 hours a day. • Encourage breastfeeding on demand. • Do not give children breast fed pacifiers. • Encourage the establishment of support groups for the LM and ensure that the mothers contact them.
We currently have twelve in Spain Children's Friends Hospitals and one in process that you can know through the IHAN website, where you will also find a lot of information of interest regarding the groups of mothers who support breastfeeding, current news, scientific studies, etc.
All in order to provide children with adequate development and satisfactory growth, without a doubt, a website to put as a home page.
