Breastfeeding
Breastfeeding is a key child survival strategy. Breast milk is the perfect food for a baby, because it has all the nutrients babies need to stay healthy and grow. Moreover, it protects babies from all sorts of infections. To ensure infants’ optimal growth, development and good health, UNICEF advocates the need to practice exclusive breastfeeding during a baby’s first six months of life. There are very few contraindications to breastfeeding. Mothers who are HIV-positive or infected with some other viruses are advised not to breastfeed. Breastfeeding is also contraindicated for mothers who are using drugs that may present a risk to their babies’ health. A mother can breastfeed her baby until he or she is 18 months or older, providing breastfeeding is managed properly and the woman is sure of its benefits for her child’s health. Even in hot and dry climates, breast milk fully meets the baby’s fluid requirements. Breast milk is normally the only food that infants need for the first six months of life, meaning that they receive nothing but breast milk, not even water. In the Russian Federation, breastfeeding rates are fairly low. Regardless of the recent tendency towards a higher number of breastfed infants in some Russian regions, where programmes to promote breastfeeding are being implemented, the overall number of breastfed babies after six months of life does not exceed 36.5% (according to the 2006 data). According to the RF Ministry of Health and Social Development, in 2006, 40.3% of babies in Russia were exclusively breastfed at three to six months, and 36.4% - still breastfed at six to twelve months (see Figure 1).
In the meantime, according to the the WHO, some 80% of infants are breastfed at six months in such countries as Albania, Moldova and Turkmenistan (European database, 2006). The RF Ministry of Health and Social Development regards breastfeeding to be an integral part of the national policy related to maternal and child health. Baby-Friendly Hospitals Since 1993, the joint WHO/UNICEF initiative “Baby-Friendly Hospital” has been actively promoted across Russia. The initiative aims to create a beneficial environment in maternity hospitals conducive to breastfeeding of infants in the first hour of life. Maternity facilities aspiring to be awarded the “Baby-Friendly Hospital” status should comply with the ten principles of the BFH initiative. The Research and Training Centre for Advocacy, Support and Encouragement of Breastfeeding of the RF Ministry of Health and Social Development in close cooperation with the UNICEF Office in Russia has been coordinating activities to apply the said ten principles to the practice of maternity hospitals in Russia. Specially trained national experts carry out certification procedures to award the “Baby-Friendly Hospital Status” to medical facilities. About 240 maternity hospitals, where every fifth baby in Russia is born, have already been awarded this status. Breast feeding is encouraged during medical consultations at women’s and children’s health clinics and early childhood centers, while breast feeding recommendations are being incorporated in training programmes for medical workers. Ten principles of the Baby Friendly Hospital
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