Model Hospital Policy Recommendations On-Line Toolkit

MO-07-0042 BFP

Toolkit developed in 2006 and most recently revised in 2012

Introduction to the Model Hospital Policy Recommendations On-Line Toolkit
Based on the Model Hospital Policy Recommendations, the On-Line Toolkit provides additional references as well as resources and web links to assist hospitals in addressing the policies.

Providing Breastfeeding Support: Model Hospital Policy Recommendations (PDF)
These evidence-based recommendations were developed to provide information and resources to hospitals to improve their breastfeeding rates.

Hospital Self-Appraisal for Model Hospital Policy Recommendations (Word)
This tool can be used to assist hospital staff and quality assurance team in assessing their own hospital to identify which policy/policies they want to currently address.

 Birth and Beyond California (BBC):  Hospital Training & Quality Improvement Project
BBC is an approach created by the state Maternal Child and Adolescent Health (MCAH) Program to offer technical assistance and collaborate with hospitals to improve their exclusive breastfeeding rates by establishing hospital policies and a continuous quality improvement plan. 

The California Model Hospital Policies compared to Baby Friendly Hospital Polices (PDF)

Individual Model Hospital Policy Recommendations & Toolkit Links  

PURPOSE: These policy recommendations are designed to give basic information and guidance to prenatal professionals who wish to revise policies that affect the breastfeeding mother. Rationale and references are included as education for those unfamiliar with current breastfeeding recommendations. When no reference is available, the interventions recommended are considered to be best practice as determined by consensus of the Inland Empire Breastfeeding Coalition.

Policy #1: Hospitals should promote and support breastfeeding.

Policy #2: Nurses, certified nurse midwives, physicians and other health professionals with expertise regarding the benefits and management of breastfeeding should educate pregnant and postpartum women when the opportunity for education exists, for example, during prenatal classes, in clinical settings, and at discharge teaching.

Policy #3: The hospital will encourage medical staff to perform a breast exam on all pregnant women and provide anticipatory guidance for conditions that could affect breastfeeding. Breastfeeding mothers will have an assessment of the breast prior to discharge and will receive anticipatory guidance regarding conditions that might affect breastfeeding.

Policy #4: Hospital prenatal staff should support the mother’s choice to breastfeed and encourage exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months.

Policy #5: Nurses, certified nurse midwives, and physicians should encourage new mothers to hold their newborns skin to skin during the first two hours following birth and as much as possible thereafter, unless contraindicated.

Policy #6: Mothers and infants should be assessed for effective breastfeeding. Mothers should be offered instruction in breastfeeding as indicated.

Policy #7: Artificial nipples and pacifiers should be discouraged for healthy, breastfeeding infants.

Policy #8: Sterile water, glucose water, and artificial milk should not be given to a breastfeeding infant without the mother’s informed consent and/or physician’s specific order.

Policy #9: Mothers and infants should be encouraged to remain together during the hospital stay.

Policy #10: At discharge, mothers should be given information regarding community resources for breastfeeding support.

Comments/Feedback on Toolkit    

Toolkit evaluation (Word)

1. Save the above toolkit evaluation to your computer.
2. Open the document in Microsoft Word and fill in your responses.
3. Once finished, save the document.
4. Send an E-mail to the Breastfeeding Program and attach your completed questionnaire
-OR-
 Click HERE to open your default E-mail application and attach your completed questionnaire.