PUTRAJAYA: The Health Ministry is looking into helping more private hospitals achieve the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) accreditation.
Its Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad (pic) said the ministry wanted to promote the initiative among private hospitals, as only 19 out of 175 private hospitals in Malaysia had obtained the accreditation.
The BFHI is a global initiative by both the World Health Organisation (WHO) and United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), and is aimed at giving every child the best start in life through an environment that supports breastfeeding.
Dr Dzulkefly said there were multiple factors that might have hindered private healthcare institutions from adopting the BFHI.
“It is not merely a matter of the patients’ wants, but also a matter of (getting) buy-in from the top management and other stakeholders who want to be convinced that it would bring value,” he said on Saturday (Nov 10) after a dialogue session with private hospitals on the matter.
He said the ministry had taken note of the issues brought up during the dialogue session and would look into how they could assist private hospitals in implementing the initiative.
To be accredited as baby-friendly, hospitals must comply with the 10 steps of successful breastfeeding, which includes giving newborn babies no food or drink other than breastmilk, unless medically indicated, and placing babies in skin-to-skin contact with their mother immediately after birth for at least an hour.
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