Reported Adherence to the 10 Steps to Successful Breastfeeding Is Higher Among Baby-Friendly Hospitals.

Objective: Quantify and compare reported breastfeeding support practices in the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) and non-BFHI facilities.
Design: Cross-sectional survey.
Setting: Regions across the US.
Participants: Two hundred and eighty-six facilities (110 BFHI and 176 non-BFHI) selected by a stratified (by hospital size) random sample of 50% BFHI and 50% non-BFHI facilities.
Intervention: Emailed survey Fall 2019 through Spring 2020.
Main Outcome Measure: Reported adherence to the 10 Steps to Successful Breastfeeding.
Analysis: Wilcoxon rank sum test with continuity correction, Pearson chi-square test of independence, and Fisher's exact test.
Results: Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative facilities were more likely to report adherence to the 10 Steps to Successful Breastfeeding. Only 2 of the reported steps were not significantly different: immediate postnatal care and responsive feeding.
Conclusions and Implications: This research supports breastfeeding support interventions within hospitals as both BFHI and non-BFHI facilities have room for improvement. Interventions targeting non-BFHI facilities are an opportunity to close the disparity in breastfeeding care.
(Copyright © 2024 Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)