Strategies for implementing the fourth step of the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative in a Baby-Friendly Hospital in the interior of Rio Grande do Norte

Abstract

The World Health Organization (WHO) together with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) have been supporting breastfeeding as a basic and indispensable action for child health, as they consider it essential to reduce neonatal and infant mortality (WHO, 2017). In this sense, "skin-to-skin contact" is facilitated, above all, if mother and newborn are stable. In surgical delivery, on the other hand, there may be several obstacles to this practice, mainly because cesarean section, in general, can contribute to adverse perinatal outcomes, such as prematurity, low birth weight, need for resuscitation, and Apgar score in the fifth minute lower than 7. Therefore, the early initiation of "skin-to-skin contact" and encouragement of breastfeeding can be hindered, especially due to the separation of the binomial in this process (FERRARI et al., 2020).

DOI:https://doi.org/10.56238/sevenIVmulti2023-024