Health professional

Standards and policies to strengthen breastfeeding at birthing facilities should be written. This feature is important to sustain unanimity of criteria in practices.

Furthermore, the policy should consider the 10 steps set forth by the World Health Organization for successful breastfeeding, i.e.

- available for consultation by all personnel

- visibly displayed in all areas of the hospital

- written in the language(s) most frequently understood by patients and staff.

Early learning is defined as any opportunity for an infant, toddler, or older child to interact with a person, place or object around them. Such (positive or negative) interactions, or lack thereof, contribute to brain development and lay the foundation for later learning.
Infants and children should engage in early learning activities with their fathers, mothers and other caregivers between 0 and 3 years after birth.
Activities that support early learning in the neonatal period include making eye contact, smiling, talking, singing, and gently massaging the infant.

Universal screening for neonatal hyperbilirubinemia with transcutaneous bilirubinometer (TcB) is recommended at the time of discharge from the health center.
Physicians should ensure that all newborns are systematically monitored to rule out the potential occurrence of jaundice during the stay in the health center.

The postnatal age for universal TcB screening at discharge should be based on when the baby is discharged from the health center.

It is recommended to consider gentle whole body massage for healthy full-term newborns because of its potential benefits for growth and development.

Gentle whole body massage involves the use of the hands for tactile stimulation, slowly rubbing and stroking parts of the body or passive full range movement at the joints of the extremities.

Since 2011, November 17 has been recognized as the World Prematurity Day in order to give visibility to this problem, raise awareness of the needs and rights of premature babies and their families, sensitize decision makers, health teams and the whole society about the importance of experience and quality care, to advance policies that guarantee the full rights of both babies and families.

Kangaroo mother care is an intervention that enables the mother to assume a central role in her own and her newborn's care, thus ensuring that the lead role remains with the mother and that health workers support and respond to the mother’s and newborn’s needs.

The involvement of fathers/partners and families is important to support mothers in providing Kangaroo Care while in the facility and at home after discharge.

Father and family involvement is especially important when the mother is medically unstable or recovering from surgery.

In the neonatal intensive care unit, parents are not visitors. Families are the true protagonists in the care of their babies

Early skin-to-skin contact and early breastfeeding are two closely linked interventions that should be carried out immediately after birth.
Immediate and prolonged skin-to-skin contact facilitates lactation, enriches the microbiome of newborns, prevents hypothermia and hypoglycemia, and stabilizes respiratory function.
Early suckling at the breast stimulates lactogenesis II (activation of milk secretion) and transfers colostrum, rich in immunoactive substances, especially important for those born prematurely.

The hospitalization of premature, small and/or sick newborns poses multiple challenges to breastfeeding, including:

In neonatal hospitalization areas, the unrestricted admission of mothers and fathers facilitates close contact with their newborns, the development of bonding and the provision of care for which they will be primarily responsible after discharge.