GPHC looking to attain baby-friendly status by next year

Although the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) may never be able to realise a 100 per cent baby-friendly status where all babies are breastfed, there are certainly fervent moves being made to embrace the principles that go along with such a status.
Principles in this regard entail not only mothers regularly breastfeeding their newborn babies and remaining with them, but it also warrants that the entire staff of a baby-friendly hospital is au fait with its breastfeeding initiatives. “Even if persons are not working in the Maternity Unit or are even working at the surgical-end, they should have some idea of the baby friendly initiatives of that hospital,” said Senior Departmental Supervisor of the Maternity Unit, Sister June Cato.
The Baby-friendly Hospital concept was first launched by the World Health Organisation and the United Nations Children Fund in 1991, following the Innocenti Declaration of 1990. The initiative is a global effort to implement practices that protect, promote and support breastfeeding.
Moreover, Sister Cato said that efforts are usually made at the GPHC to have staffers exposed to workshops and continuing education programmes to make them more aware of the importance of breastfeeding even as moves are made to attain the baby-friiendly status there.
Sister Cato’s comments were forthcoming during an interview with this publication as it relates to the public hospital’s preparation to celebrate National Breastfeeding Week over the period September 15 through 21.
She explained that the GPHC’s inability to attain this status has been linked to the fact that it is a national referral hospital which accommodates patients from the various Regions who could have a number of health issues that may require the services of the Intensive Care Unit.  Added to this Sister Cato said that it will be impossible for some babies to be breastfed since some mothers may be HIV positive or have other health issues and will therefore be encouraged to take advantage of other feeding options.
However, Sister Cato noted that with education it is anticipated that the hospital will be able to attain the Baby Friendly status, though to a limited extent, by this time next year.  She disclosed that the Hospital has already had a preliminary assessment in this regard and an international assessment process is continuing.
“I am positive that we will be able to get that status by early next year…We are working pretty hard with the mothers who will be breastfeeding and so we have been encouraging mothers not to give any other feeds,” said Sister Cato.
“Even if the baby is being taken to the baby clinic or has to see the doctor at the Paediatric Department, we are looking to have those babies not have bottle feeds,” added Sister Cato. And in order to ensure that the GPHC is able to realise its ambitious goal, the Maternity Supervisor said that efforts are being made to revise the existing national breastfeeding policy with a view of ensuring that even mothers who are HIV positive are accommodated.
A planned week of activities to commemorate National Breastfeeding Week will be introduced with a church service today within the post-natal section of the Maternity Unit and the mounting of a banner to enlighten the public that breastfeeding week has started.
The activities, according to Sister Cato, will be held under the theme ‘Breastfeeding Support: – Close to mothers’, a notion which is being embraced globally. She explained that although the importance of breastfeeding is highlighted year-round, it is during this period that efforts are made to emphasise its usefulness.
“At this time we give a little more attention to breastfeeding and we do this by trying to involve everybody in breastfeeding,” she noted.
Other activities this week will include a mini-fair tomorrow during the Maternity Unit’s Antenatal Clinic to which fathers are encouraged to accompany mothers to clinic with a view of getting a better understanding of what is being done.  “Our aim is to have the fathers become involved in breastfeeding; it is not only about the mothers because they have the breast to breastfeed, we need the fathers as well to support them,” asserted Sister Cato.
She noted though that not only is the support of fathers being encouraged but also that of other family members who can prove to be equally supportive.
The continuation of the celebration on Tuesday will be characterised by talks on breastfeeding which will also be held at the Enmore PolyClinic, as well as at Clinics in Kitty and Campbellville.
On Wednesday a breastfeeding workshop will be conducted in the Maternity Unit, and according to Sister Cato, new staff members of the hospital will be targeted to heighten their awareness about breastfeeding and the need to attain the Baby-Friendly status.
Another Antenatal Clinic will be held on Thursday, and there are plans for a meeting with support group members on Friday. The latter session is designed to foster discussions with persons outside of the nursing personnel who are also expected to support mothers in the move to encourage breastfeeding.