SUPERIO, IVAN MATTHEW R.

BSN 2-B JULY 28 2019

TEN STEPS TO SUCCESSFUL BREASTFEEDING

The Baby-friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI), a partnership between the World
Health Organization and UNICEF, was launched to help motivate facilities
providing maternity and newborn services worldwide to implement the ten steps
to successful breastfeeding.

Critical management procedures

1a. Comply fully with the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk
Substitutes and relevant World Health Assembly resolutions.

1b. Have a written infant feeding policy that is routinely communicated to staff
and parents.

1c. Establish ongoing monitoring and data-management systems.

2. Ensure that staff have sufficient knowledge, competence and skills to support
breastfeeding.

Key clinical practices

3. Discuss the importance and management of breastfeeding with pregnant
women and their families.

4. Facilitate immediate and uninterrupted skin-to-skin contact and support

mothers to initiate breastfeeding as soon as possible after birth.

5. Support mothers to initiate and maintain breastfeeding and manage

common difficulties.

6. Do not provide breastfed newborns any food or fluids other than breast milk,
unless medically indicated.

7. Enable mothers and their infants to remain together and to practise rooming-
in 24 hours a day.

8. Support mothers to recognize and respond to their infants’ cues for feeding.

9. Counsel mothers on the use and risks of feeding bottles, teats and pacifiers.
SUPERIO, IVAN MATTHEW R. BSN 2-B JULY 28 2019

10. Coordinate discharge so that parents and their infants have timely access to
ongoing support and care.

HEALTH BELIEFS AND PRACTICES

"... you can't have any extravagance, because it's dangerous. You can do all
the rest..." (Maria, 10 days pp)
"... there are relapses, they say. It's the headaches, but I hear that it's headache
you end up having" (Fabíola, 11 days pp)

As a consequence of the body closure at the end of the six-week period, all the
diseases acquired in this period remain with no cure for life. Therefore, if for any
reason the abstinence is broken at this timframe, and some health alteration
comes, it is necessary to cure it before the end of quarantine. Then, the body will
not "keep" it. Thus, the said day has a special meaning, since this is the last
opportunity to recover from any kind of sickness that the mother is experiencimg
at the given moment. That is the reason why it should be observed, according
to women.

Women have also argued that it is necessary to wait for it to finish and look for
medical consultation for contraception. The topic involves power relationship
with the couple.

"I haven't had intercourse yet. I'm afraid. Only after the forty days. And after I get
the shot. Then, it's ok... (laughs), otherwise, patience" (Marina, 18 days pp)

In the power relationships, the passivity and patience, typical of female

behavior, regarding sex, follow the same patterns that women should have in
relation to children and to the husband in order to guarantee family harmony,
which is necessary for the children to become producers and competent
consumers. Male sexual behavior has other features. They search and are
assertive to carry on producing and consuming material goods which push the
capitalist society.

The sexual concern in this period is focused on contraception rather than on

women sexuality. It reflects the fragmented view of the health professional who
only looks after female reproduction. Also, it reflects the view of women who are
overwhelmed with gender construction and do not allow themselves to have
wishes or sexual pleasure.
SUPERIO, IVAN MATTHEW R. BSN 2-B JULY 28 2019

CURRENT TRENDS AND ISSUES IN MATERNAL AND CHILD

HEALTH
Recent efforts to address persistent disparities in maternal, infant, and child
health have employed a “life course” perspective to health promotion and
disease prevention. At the start of the decade, about half of all pregnancies
were unplanned. Unintended pregnancy is associated with a host of public
health concerns such as delayed initiation of prenatal care, poor maternal
health, and preterm birth. In response, perinatal health initiatives have been
aimed at improving the health of women and infants before and during
pregnancy through a variety of evidence-based interventions and attention to
emerging public health concerns, such as Zika.

The life course perspective also supports the examination of quality of life,
including the challenges of male and female fertility. An estimated 6.9 million
American women ages 15 to 44 have received infertility services (including
counseling and diagnosis) in their lifetime. Disparities in infertility diagnosis and
treatment exist among racial and ethnic groups, and may increase as
childbearing practices continue to change. In particular, African American
women experience higher rates of infertility.

References:
https://www.who.int/nutrition/bfhi/ten-steps/en/
https://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/topics-objectives/topic/maternal-infant-and-child-health

http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0103-21002008000200007

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29132060

https://embryo.asu.edu/pages/traditional-postpartum-practices-and-rituals-qualitative-systematic-review-2007-cindy-lee