Kathmandu, Oct 15: The Ministry of Health and Food Safety has issued the ‘Maternal and Child- Friendly Health Institution Programme Operation Guidelines, 2083’ to ensure the rights of mothers and newborns while protecting, promoting, and supporting breastfeeding.
The Ministry informed through a press note today that a new guideline has been issued to make the programmes run under the earlier ‘Mother and Child-Friendly Service Campaign in Health Institutions Guideline, 2073’ more organized and effective.
The new guidelines have set 10 standards each that health institutions must follow for mothers and newborns.
The main goal of the guidelines is to ensure mother and child-friendly services in hospitals and health institutions, providing services to mothers and newborns according to their health, rights, and needs.
According to the guidelines, during delivery, the mother should be allowed to have a family member of her choice with her. This is expected to boost the mother’s confidence during childbirth and help ensure the baby’s safety.
Similarly, according to the guidelines, priority has been given to making arrangements where the newborn is kept in the mother’s bed without separating from the mother and breastfeeding is initiated as soon as possible after the baby is born.
The Directorate will help in effectively implementing the Act on Substitutes for Mother’s Milk (Sales and Distribution Control) 1992 by regulating the sale, distribution, and promotion of items used as alternatives to breast milk, thereby supporting the protection, promotion, and encouragement of breastfeeding.
A system has been set up to have someone at the health facility, called a ‘focal person,’ to check on the health of mothers and newborns, provide necessary advice and support, and identify any potential problems, even after mothers and newborns are discharged from the health facility and return home.
The guideline will create a supportive environment for breastfeeding and provide mothers with the necessary help. It also emphasizes delivering services with priority on the health and safety of both mother and newborn.
The new guidelines aim to make breastfeeding protection, promotion, and support more organized by ensuring continuity of mother and baby-friendly services from pregnancy to the postnatal period.
