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Baby-friendly hospital initiative: Lessons learned from hospitals in los angeles county
The rate of exclusive breastfeeding reported by Los Angele County hospitals of 39.3% is markedly lower compared to the statewide rate of 56.6%. To address this issue, First 5 LA began supporting hospitals that were seeking Baby-Friendly designation in 2009. To date First 5 LA has provided support to 16 hospitals throughout Los Angeles County. The evaluation seeks to understand the challenges, achievements, and milestones that hospitals have experienced as they seek Baby-Friendly Hospital designation as well as hospital staff and patients' reactions to new baby-friendly practices. Evaluation methods include analysis of hospital administrative data, interviews with hospital staff, and focus groups with new mothers who delivered at a participating hospital. Preliminary findings indicate that hospitals seeking Baby-Friendly designation had to make significant organizational changes throughout the hospital among all levels of staff. Challenges, achievements, and best practices that hospitals experienced in implementing “The Ten Steps of Successful Breastfeeding Practices” will be described from the perspective of hospital administrators, nurses, and patients.
Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programs
Learning Objectives:
Describe the challenges that hospitals experienced implementing the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative and how these challenges were addressed.
Identify trends observed in breastfeeding rates among participating hospitals.
Describe patients and hospital staff’s reactions to baby-friendly practices.
Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have conducted community based research for over 10 years. In my current capacity as a Senior Research Associate at Harder+Company Community Research, I oversee evaluation and planning projects in the areas of early childhood education, public health, youth development, foster youth, and school-based and school-linked services.
Any relevant financial relationships? No
I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.