Health professional competency building for the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative in Malawi.

Health professional competency building is one of nine national responsibilities (to achieve universal coverage and sustainability) described in the 2018 World Health Organization (WHO)/United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) implementation guidance for the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI). With stagnating rates of exclusive breastfeeding worldwide, skilled breastfeeding support as a standard of newborn care is critical to the establishment of lactation and exclusive breastfeeding. Few studies exist on how low-income countries are integrating BFHI into their standards of care.

Building the competency of health professionals in the Kyrgyz Republic for the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative.

Health professional competency building is one of nine national responsibilities (to achieve universal coverage and sustainability) described in the 2018 World Health Organization/UNICEF implementation guidance for the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI). Skilled breastfeeding support as a standard of newborn care is critical to the establishment of lactation and exclusive breastfeeding. This qualitative case study describes the Kyrgyz Republic's experience with health professional competency building related to breastfeeding counselling and support.

Implementing two national responsibilities of the revised UNICEF/WHO Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative: A two-country case study.

The 2018 implementation guidance for the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) recommends institutionalising the ten Steps through nine national responsibilities for universal coverage and sustainability. As countries adapt BFHI programmes to this paradigm shift away from traditional designation programmes, documenting and sharing policy and programme experience are critical and currently sparse. This qualitative case study included desk reviews of published and grey literature on BFHI programming, national plans and policy documents specific to the selected national responsibilities for universal coverage and key informant (KI) interviews across a range of actors.

Exclusive breastfeeding: Measurement to match the global recommendation.

The World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) recommend exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) for the first 6 months of life. To estimate the proportion of infants that are exclusively breastfed, many agencies use the point prevalence of EBF among infants currently 0-5.9 months of age, as recommended by WHO and UNICEF.

Several problem nutrients are identified in the complementary diet of 6 to 11 month old breastfed children in Western Guatemala.

Background And Objectives: The failure of infants in developing countries to meet nutrient intake recommendations is well documented. The objective of this study was to assess the nutritional adequacy and identify problem nutrients of the diets of Guatemalan infants with continued breastfeeding.

Methods And Study Design: A single previous-day dietary recall was collected from a convenience sample of 94 mothers of infants aged 6-11 mo attending a public health clinic in the urban area of Quetzaltenango, Guatemala.

Engaging men to promote and support exclusive breastfeeding: a descriptive review of 28 projects in 20 low- and middle-income countries from 2003 to 2013.

Background: Lay support has been associated with improved breastfeeding practices, but studies of programs that engage men in breastfeeding support have shown mixed results and most are from high-income countries. The purpose of our research is to review strategies to engage men in exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) promotion or support in 28 project areas across 20 low- and middle-income countries. This information may be used to inform program implementers and policymakers seeking to increase EBF.

Trends in Abortion Incidence and Availability in North Carolina, 1980-2013.

Objectives: Abortion incidence has declined nationally during the last decade. In recent years, many states, including North Carolina, have passed legislation related to the provision of abortion services. Despite the changing political environment, there is no comprehensive analysis on past and current trends related to unintended pregnancy and abortion in North Carolina.

Energy contribution from non-breastmilk items in low-income Guatemalan infants in their sixth month of life.

Objective: To examine the nature and energy contribution of complementary feeding in breastfed infants in their sixth month of life, and the prevalence of the use of bottles as a delivery method.

Materials And Methods: We recruited 156 breastfeeding infants at a health clinic in metropolitan Quetzaltenango, Guatemala. A previous-day recall was performed.

A novel mobile phone application to assess nutrition environment measures in low- and middle-income countries.

Background: Consumer nutrition environment measures are important to understanding the food environment, which affects individual dietary intake. A nutrition environment measures survey for supermarkets (NEMS-S) has been designed on paper for use in Guatemala. However, a paper survey is not an inconspicuous data collection method.