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Corniche Hospital, one of the very few hospitals in the UAE that has achieved the ‘Baby Friendly Hospital’ accreditation by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and World Health Organization (WHO) is gearing to achieve the third round of Baby Friendly Hospital accreditation.
The Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) is a Global Initiative of the World Health Organization and UNICEF that aims to give every baby the best start in life by creating a health care environment that supports breastfeeding as the norm. The Initiative includes a global assessment and accreditation scheme that recognizes the achievements of health facilities whose practices promote, protect and support breastfeeding.
The BFHI exercise which takes place in stages, assesses the staff education program related to infant feeding and the knowledge that the staff had gained in relation to the management of breastfeeding by using individual interviews with staff to assess their knowledge.
Corniche Hospital was first awarded with the BFHI accreditation from UNICEF for the excellent support it offered to breastfeeding in 2006 and then in 2010.
“Even before the BFHI accreditation, Corniche Hospital has pursued a strong program of pre-natal and post-natal education for mothers offering valuable information and support on breastfeeding. While we are 100% dedicated to roll out the BFHI practices in our hospital, it is important to educate mothers to choose a Baby Friendly accredited hospital as she has better chances of establishing breastfeeding successfully and for a longer period of time. We are very committed to the BFHI initiative as it demonstrates our commitment in ensuring that every baby born in Corniche has the best possible nutritional start in life.,” said Dr. Mariam Al Mazrouei, Corniche Hospital’s Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operations Officer speaking about the hospital’s strong association with BFHI.
The BFHI exercise is further reinforced with the fact that the hospital has been recognized by the International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners® (IBLCE®) and International Lactation Consultant Association® (ILCA®) for excellence in lactation care in 2013. Corniche was the only hospital in the region to have achieved this recognition.
“By achieving the BFHI certification, Corniche Hospital Lactation team has been successful in supporting mothers to meet their own breastfeeding goals besides improving exclusive breastfeeding rates for 6 months, with timely, adequate, safe and appropriate complementary feeding, while continuing breastfeeding for two years and beyond. In addition, our mother to mother support group provides support to maternal nutrition social and community support to breastfeeding”, said Gabriela Shaat, Corniche Hospital’s ICLCA Lactation Consultant.
Corniche Hospital is owned and operated by Abu Dhabi Health Services Company (SEHA), which is responsible for the curative activities of all the public hospitals and clinics of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.
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