QEH Seeking Recertification As A Baby-Friendly Hospital

The Ministry of Health and Wellness and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) are working in tandem to have the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) recertified as a “Baby-friendly Hospital”.

This announcement was made on Monday by PAHO/World Health Organization (WHO) Representative for Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, Dr. Amalia Del Riego, during an event at the Randal Phillips Polyclinic, Oistins, Christ Church, to mark World Health Day.

This year’s theme is “Healthy Beginnings, Hopeful Futures”, with an emphasis on ending preventable maternal and newborn deaths. The Ministry focused on breastfeeding, a critical component for the nutritional health of babies, for its 2025 activities. 

The Baby-friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) helps health care facilities providing maternity and newborn care to implement the ‘Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding’, a package of policies and procedures that facilities should implement to support breastfeeding. The BFHI was launched in 1991 by the WHO and UNICEF and was updated in 2009.

According to PAHO’s website, studies have shown that adherence to the ‘Ten Steps’ positively impacts breastfeeding initiation and duration, short-term, medium-term, and long-term breastfeeding outcomes.

PAHO/WHO recommends that health facilities implement measures to protect, promote, and support breastfeeding starting in the period of antenatal care up to when mothers and newborns are discharged.

The revised 2018 Implementation Guidance for the national BFHI programme, outlines nine key responsibilities which are to:

• Establish or strengthen a national breastfeeding coordination body.
• Integrate the ‘Ten Steps’ into relevant national policy documents and professional standards of care.
• Ensure the competency of health professionals and managers in implementing the ‘Ten Steps’.
• Utilise external assessment systems to regularly evaluate adherence to the ‘Ten Steps’.
• Develop and implement incentives for compliance and/or sanctions for non-compliance with the ‘Ten Steps’.
• Provide technical assistance to facilities that are making changes to adopt the ‘Ten Steps’.
• Monitor implementation of the initiative.
• Advocate for the BFHI to relevant audiences.
• Identify and allocate sufficient resources to ensure the ongoing funding of the initiative.

Dr. Del Riego said she was confident the QEH would achieve the recertification.

Author: Melissa Rollock

Publish: April 08, 2025