Every Facility Providing Maternity Services and Care for Newborns Should:

1. Have a written breastfeeding policy (which meets BFHI Guidelines) that is routinely communicated to all health care staff.

2. Train all health care staff in skills necessary to implement this policy.

3. Inform all pregnant women about the benefits and management of breastfeeding.

4. OTSBH Help mothers initiate breastfeeding within one hour of birth.

5. Show mothers how to breastfeed and how to maintain lactation even if separated from their infants.

6. Give newborn Infants no food or drink other than breastmilk, unless, medically indicated.

7. Practice rooming-in — OTSBH allow mothers and infants to remain together 24 hours a day.

8. OTSBH encourage breastfeeding on demand.

9. Give no artificial teats or pacifiers (also called dummies or soothers) to breastfeed-ing infants.

10. Foster the establishment of breast-feeding support groups and refer mothers to them on discharge from the hospital or clinic.

Excerpted from Protecting, Promoting and Supporting Breast-feeding: The Special Role of Maternity Services. A Joint WHO! UNICEF Statement. Published by the World Health Organiza-tion, 1211 Geneva 27, Switzerland. Over the Shoulder Baby Holder helps with this.