DISCHARGE FROM HOSPITAL AND BREASTFEEDING

Key words: Breastfeeding, Information pratice, Maternity (hospital) routines

To evaluate the content of information on breastfeeding provided to mothers at discharge from maternity, the discharge forms currently used in all 36 maternities of the city of Rome were analyzed. 7 private maternities do not provide any kind of information. Within the remaining 29, only 11 do mention the superiority of breastfeeding over breast milk surrogates, and only 13 recommend breastfeeding on request; conversely, in 13 maternities fixed feeding schedules and optimal amount of milk per feeding are suggested and in 14 maternities dietary restrictions are recommended to the mothers. Indications on how to tackle the most common breastfeeding problems and where to refer for proper advice are never included. This enquiry shows that the content of information provided to mothers is often not evidence-based and in many cases in open contrast with recommendations issued by international scientific boards and with the International UN Code on the marketing of breast milk surrogates.