engleski

Results of the National Programme of Breastfeeding Promotion in the Republic of Croatia

Before the war (1990) Croatia had a very low rate of breastfed babies. While 75% of women were breastfeeding their newborn babies when they left maternity hospitals, this figure fell to around 30% by the time their babies were three months old. The figure drops even more, to around 20%, in the refugee population. In 1993 Croatia made a determined effort to promote the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative, the joint UNICEF/WHO campaign to promote breastfeeding through hospital and maternity units. In 1996, after 3-years of implementation of breastfeeding promotion, we sought to evaluate the results of the programme. Wide spread research was carried out in the field. A multiindicator survey was used, and 15.000 households were included. The results show a significant improvement. Today more than 90% of babies comes out of maternity hospital breastfed, and the lenght of breastfeeding has been prolonged. Moreover, 3 hospitals in Croatia become Baby Friendly Hospitals in 1996.

breastfeeding; Croatia; Baby Friendly Hospital

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