Compliance With the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative for Neonatal Wards in Russian Hospitals

Background The expansion of the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative to neonatal wards, known as the Neo-BFHI, provides recommendations to support breastfeeding, as outlined in the Three Guiding Principles, the expanded Ten Steps, and the International Code for Marketing of Breast-Milk Substitutes. In 2017, Russia participated in an international survey about compliance with the Neo-BFHI. Research Aim To assess breastfeeding support policies and practices in Russian neonatal wards at the country and federal district level in accordance with the Neo-BFHI recommendations. Methods This study was a prospective cross-sectional survey. We used the Neo-BFHI Self-Assessment questionnaire to collect data from neonatal wards that had all levels of care. A total of N = 60 Russian neonatal wards in hospitals that have ever been designated Baby-Friendly or planned to do so participated in the survey. Results Compliance scores at the federal district and country level ranging from 0-100 were used to summarize results. The median country overall score was 90 (IQR = 83 - 93). Respect for mothers, continuity of care, having a breastfeeding policy, and rooming-in had the highest median scores. Family-centered care, antenatal informing, skin-to-skin contact, and human milk use had the lowest median scores. Neonatal wards in the hospitals that were ever designated as Baby-Friendly had significantly higher scores than those that were never designated. Most respondents (n = 48, 80%) expressed a desire to obtain Neo-BFHI designation in their neonatal wards. Conclusion Neo-BFHI recommendations can be successfully implemented in Russian neonatal wards at hospitals designated Baby-Friendly or planning to be designated.

Automated summary

The study found that Russian neonatal wards generally scored high in supporting breastfeeding, especially in areas such as respect for mothers, continuity of care, having a breastfeeding policy, and rooming-in. However, they scored lower in areas such as family-centered care, antenatal informing, skin-to-skin contact, and human milk use. Most respondents expressed a desire to obtain Neo-BFHI designation in their neonatal wards.