Get re-acquainted with tensteps.org
The Mother and Child Health and Education Trust takes great pleasure in presenting the new website Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding and the new 10 step video series, in association with UNICEF Maharashtra, to support the 2010 World Breastfeeding Week campaign.
Research shows that the best feeding option globally is initiation of breastfeeding within the first half-hour of life, exclusive breastfeeding for a full six months, safe, age-appropriate and adequate complementary foods from six months, and continued breastfeeding through the second year or beyond. Breastfeeding improves short- and long-term maternal health; and can contribute to the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 4: Reduce Child Mortality and 5: Improve Maternal Health (www.un.org/milleniumgoals).
The Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI), launched in 1991, is an effort by UNICEF and the World Health Organization to ensure that all maternity facilities, whether free-standing or in a hospital, become centres of breastfeeding support. A maternity facility can be designated “baby-friendly” when it does not accept free or low-cost breastmilk substitutes, feeding bottles or teats, and has implemented 10 specific steps to support successful breastfeeding. The process is currently controlled by national breastfeeding authorities, using global criteria that can be applied to maternity care in every country.
In an effort to revitalise and expand the initiative, the 2010 World Breastfeeding Week (WBW) highlighted Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding. The WBW is the greatest outreach vehicle for the breastfeeding movement, being celebrated in more than 170 countries worldwide. It promotes, protects and supports breastfeeding. For more information on the theme for this year’s event, exciting activities, and materials for download, please visit the WBW website.
Action at community level is particularly important, since globally only 56% of women deliver their babies in a health facility (only 33% in the least developed countries), and they may be discharged within a day or two. Women need ongoing support in the community whether they deliver in hospital or at home.
The full video series is available for viewing and download at http://tensteps.org.
Submitted by The Mother and Child Health and Education Trust