Breastfeeding Support in Spanish Neonatal Intensive Care Units and the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative.

Background: The Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) has a positive effect on breastfeeding in maternity wards; however, few studies have examined to what degree it affects care in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). Recently, the BFHI has been adapted to the NICUs (Neo-BFHI).

Objective: This study aimed to compare breastfeeding support in Spanish NICUs in hospitals with BFHI accreditation or in the process of being accredited (group 1) with NICUs in hospitals that have not yet begun this initiative (group 2).

[Feeding practices with human milk in newborns less than 1.500 g or less than 32 weeks].

Introduction: There is currently no unified policy on either breastfeeding support or enteral nutrition practices, as regards human milk (HM) in pre-term newborns. The aim of this study was to describe breastfeeding support measures, as well as the use of HM in very preterm infants in Spanish public hospitals.

Method: A questionnaire on enteral feeding practices was distributed.