The Baby-friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) was launched by WHO and UNICEF in 1991, following the Innocenti Declaration of 1990. The Innocenti Declaration is a document that outlines the optimal feeding of babies and children. Part of this declaration was a recommendation that all governments should develop national breastfeeding policies and implement systems to protect, promote, and support breastfeeding. The initiative is a global effort to implement practices that protect, promote and support breastfeeding.
So we know now that The BFHI was established to encourage maternity hospitals to implement the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding and to practise in accordance with the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes.
The Baby Friendly Initiative works with the health-care system to ensure a high standard of care in relation to infant feeding for pregnant women and mothers and babies. Support is provided for health-care facilities that are seeking to implement best practice, and an assessment and accreditation process recognises those that have achieved the required standard.
Since its launching BFHI has grown, with more than 152 countries around the world implementing the initiative. The initiative has measurable and proven impact, increasing the likelihood of babies being exclusively breastfed for the first six months. Since the beginning of the BFHI, over 22,000 hospitals worldwide have become designated “Baby Friendly. However, the vast majority of hospitals in the world have failed to implement the Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative in the 20 years since this agreement was signed.
In South Africa, the BFHI was launched in 1994 and St Monica's Maternity
Hospital in Cape Town was the first hospital to be accredited Baby-Friendly. The Western Cape has 74 public and private hospitals with maternity wards, of
which only 19 boasts the BFHI accreditation. 17 of the 19 are public hospitals. So we know now that nineteen hospitals in the Western Cape Province have received this
accreditation. Alan Blyth Hospital celebrated its international Baby-Friendly Hospital
Initiative (BFHI) accreditation by hosting a ceremony on Monday, 13 February
2012.
Nurses and midwives should take action. Advocate for Baby Friendly accreditation at your local hospitals. Join breastfeeding organizations such as La Leche. If you are not already a member, I urge you to attend a La Leche League Group regularly and become a member. or become a member of International Baby Food Action Network. Write letters to your local hospital administration, health minister, head of obstetrics, maternity ward, public health unit (health units can earn Baby Friendly accreditation as well), and health authority, advocating for a push to improve infant and maternal health via the Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative. Change the world, improve health, support women! One hospital at a time…
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
World Breastfeeding Week
World Breastfeeding Week is celebrated every year from 1 to 7 August in more than 170 countries to encourage breastfeeding and improve the health of babies around the world. It commemorates the Innocenti Declaration made by WHO and UNICEF policy-makers in August 1990 to protect, promote and support breastfeeding.The World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA) was formed in 1991 to act on the Innocenti Declaration (1990) to protect, promote and support breastfeeding. As part of its action plan to facilitate and strengthen social mobilisation for breastfeeding, WABA envisioned a glabal unifying breastfeeding promotion strategy. A day dedicated to breastfeeding was suggested to be markedin the calender of international events. The idea of a day's celebration was turned into a week.
The World Health Organization recommends that infants start breastfeeding within one hour of life, are exclusively breastfed for six months, with timely introduction of adequate, safe and properly fed complementary foods while continuing breastfeeding for up to two years of age or beyond. This has become to be known as World Breastfeeding Week (WBW) celebrated every 1-7 August commemorate the Innocenti Declaration. WBW was first celebrated in 1992. Now it involves over 170 countries and is endorsed by UNICEF, WHO, FAO and IPA.
Please read the WBW 2012 Calendar Announcement at www.worldbreastfeedingweek.org for more information.
Source: www.who.int/features/factfiles/breastfeeding/facts/en/index.html
http://www.rnjournal.com/journal_of_nursing/the_importance_of_supporting_mothers_who_breastfeed.htm
The World Health Organization recommends that infants start breastfeeding within one hour of life, are exclusively breastfed for six months, with timely introduction of adequate, safe and properly fed complementary foods while continuing breastfeeding for up to two years of age or beyond. This has become to be known as World Breastfeeding Week (WBW) celebrated every 1-7 August commemorate the Innocenti Declaration. WBW was first celebrated in 1992. Now it involves over 170 countries and is endorsed by UNICEF, WHO, FAO and IPA.
Please read the WBW 2012 Calendar Announcement at www.worldbreastfeedingweek.org for more information.
Source: www.who.int/features/factfiles/breastfeeding/facts/en/index.html
http://www.rnjournal.com/journal_of_nursing/the_importance_of_supporting_mothers_who_breastfeed.htm
Monday, August 6, 2012
Umbillical Cord Knots
The umbilical cord is about 30 to 60 cm in length at term. So at 36, 37 weeks it really is quite long. The important thing about it is, not only is it long, but it’s really thick. So it’s up to 2, sometimes 2 ½ cm thick, and not only does it contain two arteries and one vein. But it also contains a lot of jelly-like substance called Wharton’s Jelly that protects the blood vessels. So it really is encased in quite a thick covering and then the blood vessels have jelly around them. So that stops them getting twisted or occluded in any way.
Umbilical knots do happen occasionally when a foetus swims through a loop in the cord, but the structure of the cord makes it difficult for this to have any adverse effects. Babies jump up and down, they turn over from head down to bottom down sometimes. There has to be a great deal of tension in order for the knot to compress the cord with any significance, and therefore, impede blood flow.
Here is a good review article on cord knots.
http://www.pediatricperinatalpathology.com/id27.html
Apparently, in some cases a cord knot is detected via ultrasound (but not all knots are found with prenatal exams). However, there are no specific treatments. Most of the time, a knot is not a problem, but a “true knot” can actually be so tight that it compromises blood flow through the umbilical cord to the baby. Probably what most people worry about when it comes to umbilical cords is that they will be wrapped around the baby’s neck. This is called a “nuchal” cord (from the Latin word for “neck”). This is much more common, occurring in up to 20% of all births, but only rarely causes problems. I've seen about a dozen true knots, none have been in babies with any problems.
Umbilical knots do happen occasionally when a foetus swims through a loop in the cord, but the structure of the cord makes it difficult for this to have any adverse effects. Babies jump up and down, they turn over from head down to bottom down sometimes. There has to be a great deal of tension in order for the knot to compress the cord with any significance, and therefore, impede blood flow.
Here is a good review article on cord knots.
http://www.pediatricperinatalpathology.com/id27.html
Apparently, in some cases a cord knot is detected via ultrasound (but not all knots are found with prenatal exams). However, there are no specific treatments. Most of the time, a knot is not a problem, but a “true knot” can actually be so tight that it compromises blood flow through the umbilical cord to the baby. Probably what most people worry about when it comes to umbilical cords is that they will be wrapped around the baby’s neck. This is called a “nuchal” cord (from the Latin word for “neck”). This is much more common, occurring in up to 20% of all births, but only rarely causes problems. I've seen about a dozen true knots, none have been in babies with any problems.
Saturday, August 4, 2012
Umbillical Cord
The Purpose of the Umbilical Cord
The umbilical cord is one of the most important things in an unborn baby's environment. The umbilical cord begins to form between four and six weeks as the embryonic disc takes a cylindrical shape. The proximal portion of the umbilical cord is in the lower third of the embryo, and begins to form and develops a sac. The proximal portion houses the guts until the tenth week of gestation. At this time the umbilical cord is short, usually shorter than the than the head-to-tail length of the embryo. By ten weeks the intestines leave the proximal cord and return to the stomach, the elongation of the cord begins and the location of the umbilicus positions in the middle third of the embryo.
Features
The umbilical cord is a unique tissue covered by a mucoid connective tissue called Wharton's jelly and a thin mucous membrane. The umbilical cord develops from two separate foetal origins. The yolk sack and the allantoses both compromise the umbilical cords. As a result both are formed from the foetal tissue and can be thought to be part of the foetus. The cord is usually 1-2 cm in diameter and 60 cm long according to Percy Malpas, a British obstetrician who studied cord length in the 1960s.
Wharton.s jelly is a specialized tissue serving many purposes for the developing fetus. Its specialized cells contain gelatin-like mucus that encases fibers. These properties give it elastic and cushion effect, which can tolerate the vibration, bending, stretching and twisting of an active fetus. In addition, it holds the vessels together, may regulate blood flow, plays a role in providing nutrition to the fetus, stores chemistry for the onset of labor, and protects the supply line. Umbilical cords without much Wharton’s jelly are more prone to compression, and complete absence is usually associated with fetal death. If an umbilical cord is twisted or knotted, it is more likely to tighten where there is less resistance, such as an area low in Wharton.s jelly. It is believed that males have more Wharton.s jelly content than do females and that good nutrition increases the amount. Wharton.s jelly tends to reduce with gestational age and can disappear when pregnancies go beyond 40 weeks.
Function
The umbilical cord contains three vessels and two arteries. About 1% of all infants are born with a cord that contains only a single vein and artery. A 15% of these infants are found to have accompanying congenital anomalies, particularly of the kidney and heart.
The umbilical cord has three functions: serves as a blood resource for the foetus, serves as a source of nutrients (calories, proteins, fats and vitamins) and transfers waste products. The umbilical cord carries blood in the opposite direction, from the baby to the placenta. This blood has been emptied of nutrients and oxygen and now carries the fetus' waste products back to the mother's bloodstream where she can dispose of them through her system. The blood in the arteries contains waste products, such as carbon dioxide, from the baby’s metabolism. Carbon dioxide is transferred across the placenta to the bloodstream and then into the lungs where it is breathed out. Oxygen is transported from the red blood cells in the circulation across the placenta to the baby in the umbilical vein. In addition to oxygen the umbilical cord transports nutrients from the placenta to the baby.
https://apps.who.int/rht/documents/MSM98-4/MSM-98-4.htm#IMPORTANCE
http://www.pediatricperinatalpathology.com/id27.html
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