A Transition Strategy for Becoming a Baby-Friendly Hospital: Exploring the Costs, Benefits, and Challenges

作者：DelliFraine Jami^*; Langabeer James II; Delgado Rigoberto; Williams Janet F; Gong Alice

来源：Breastfeeding Medicine, 2013, 8(2): 170-175.

DOI：10.1089/bfm.2012.0050

The objectives of this study were to provide an economic assessment as well as a calculated projection of the costs that typical U. S. tertiary-care hospitals would incur through policy reconfiguration and implementation to achieve the UNICEF/World Health Organization Baby-Friendly (R) Hospital designation and to examine the associated challenges and benefits of becoming a Baby-Friendly Hospital. We analyzed hospital resource utilization, focusing on formula use and staffing profiles at one U. S. urban tertiary-care teaching hospital, as well as conducted an online survey and telephone interviews with a selection of Baby-Friendly Hospitals to obtain their perspective on costs, challenges, and benefits. Findings indicate that added costs for a new Baby-Friendly Hospital will approximate $148 per birth, but these costs sharply decrease over time as breastfeeding rates increase in a Baby-Friendly environment.

• 出版日期2013-4