“Child-Friendly Hospital” – or what?
The global child-friendly hospital initiative was conceived to bring back the correct way of feeding babies around the world. It was introduced by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). Hospitals with this title adhere to the so-called “10 steps to successful breastfeeding”, which include support for mothers in starting and maintaining lactation and in coping with difficulties associated with breastfeeding, or allowing mothers and newborns to be together and using the rooming-in system around the clock. One of the steps is also the institution’s observance of the International Code of Marketing of Breast Milk Substitutes. It allows the mother to make the decision to feed her baby based on modern medical knowledge rather than advertising. In Poland, the title of “Child-Friendly Hospital” is awarded by the Committee for the Promotion of Breastfeeding established in 1992 in cooperation with the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, the Polish Committee of UNICEF and the Institute of Mother and Child.
Education and lactation procedure
“We accepted the decision of the Committee for the Promotion of Breastfeeding with great enthusiasm. We had long tried to be a child-friendly hospital but facilities with a degree of reference higher than 1 could apply for this title only recently. So a broad educational campaign for all our staff and for parents began. These several years of work and huge commitment of the entire management team were appreciated and we were awarded this unique and special title,” said Ewa Piotrowska, Director of Duchess Anna Mazowiecka Clinical Hospital in Warsaw. “Under the direction of Agnieszka Muszyńska, a certified lactation counselor, a lactation procedure was developed covering all situations in which breast milk can be delivered not only by breastfeeding but also in other ways, so as to provide children, especially seriously ill, and premature babies with the valuable medicine, which is mother’s milk,” added Piotrowska.
The Clinical Hospital named after Duchess Anna Mazowiecka is a highly specialized facility providing medical procedures in the fields of obstetrics, gynecology, neonatology and, most importantly, intensive care of newborns. In December 2022 it will be 110 years since the hospital at Karowa St. in Warsaw received the first patients and was one of the most modern establishments in Europe at that time. Currently, the hospital offers comprehensive care for women of all ages. The smallest, sickest and requiring intensive care newborns are rescued here. It was here that in 1953 the first “rooming-in” department in Poland was established, promoting the essential model of care for healthy newborns, assuming uninterrupted contact between the child and the mother since the birth. The hospital has received many awards, including the certificate of “Outstanding Medical Institution”, the Gold Certificate “Reliable in Health Care”, the “Mazovian Eagle of Business” and the title of “Woman-Friendly Center”. The title of “Child-Friendly Hospital” is another unique distinction.
The meeting, during which the title was awarded, was attended by: Paloma Cuchi, Director of the WHO office in Poland; Professor Ewa Helwich, National Consultant for Neonatology; Maria Wilińska, Chairwoman of the Board of the Committee for the Promotion of Breastfeeding; Professor Zbigniew Gaciong, Rector of the Medical University of Warsaw; Professor Agnieszka Cudnoch-Jędrzejewska and Professor Piotr Pruszczyk, Vice-Rectors of the Medical University of Warsaw; Professor Rafał Krenke, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine of the Medical University of Warsaw; Magdalena Nehring-Gugulska, Director of the Center for Lactation Science; Tomasz Sławatyniec, Director of the Health Department of the Mazovian Province and Waldemar Kraska, Secretary of State in the Ministry of Health.
The title of “Child-Friendly Hospital” has so far been awarded to 95 Polish institutions. The title is prestigious: it emphasizes the application of the WHO’s standards in the care of mother and child and distinguishes it from other units with a similar medical profile.
