title: Evidence based breast-feeding promotion: the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative.
abstract: The Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) is the translational tool developed by WHO and UNICEF to promote breast-feeding (BF) in maternity wards worldwide. BFHI was officially launched in the 1980s based on a "common sense" approach. Since then, research conducted in Latin America has shown that BFHI is highly cost-effective. BF trends over the past 2 decades strongly suggest that BFHI has had a global impact on BF outcomes. The 10th step of BFHI related to community-based BF promotion is one of the most challenging ones to address. Randomized controlled trials conducted in the Americas, Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa indicate that peer counseling is a very efficacious tool for increasing EBF rates. Low-cost rapid-response monitoring systems are needed to monitor the proper implementation and administration of BFHI steps following an evidence-based approach. This approach is essential for reenergizing the BFHI worldwide.
authors.affiliation: Connecticut National Institutes of Health EXPORT Center of Excellence for Eliminating Health Disparities among Latinos and Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs CT 06269-4017, USA. rafael.perez-escamilla@uconn.edu
authors.forename: Rafael
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pérez-Escamilla
mesh_terms: D001208:Asia; D001942:Breast Feeding / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003153:Community Health Services / Q000191:economics / Q000458:organization & administration; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine / Q000379:methods*; D005869:Ghana; D014943:Global Health; D006166:Guatemala; D006266:Health Education / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006761:Hospitals; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008800:Mexico; D013997:Time Factors; D014480:United Nations; D014944:World Health Organization