Effect of the baby-friendly initiative on infant abandonment in a Russian hospital

To study whether early mother-infant contact with suckling and rooming-in reduces the rate of infant abandonment. The infant abandonment rate was studied at a Russian hospital before and after the introduction of early mother-infant contact with suckling and rooming-in. Maternity Hospital 11 , a pub...

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Published inArchives of pediatrics & adolescent medicine Vol. 154; no. 5; p. 474
Main Authors Lvoff, N M, Lvoff, V, Klaus, M H
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 01.05.2000
Subjects
Child, Abandoned
Female
Hospitals, Maternity
Humans
Infant, Newborn
Longitudinal Studies
Maternal Behavior
Object Attachment
Program Evaluation
Rooming-in Care
Russia
Russia
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Summary:To study whether early mother-infant contact with suckling and rooming-in reduces the rate of infant abandonment. The infant abandonment rate was studied at a Russian hospital before and after the introduction of early mother-infant contact with suckling and rooming-in. Maternity Hospital 11 , a public hospital in St Petersburg, Russia, was chosen as the site of this study because it recently changed its maternity care practices, implementing portions of the United Nations Children's Fund Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative. In mid 1992, Maternity Hospital 11 changed its practices in accord with the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative, encouraging early contact, suckling, and rooming-in of the mother and infant from birth to the time of discharge from the hospital. The location of a mother's maternity hospital is related to her residential district. Maternity Hospital 11 serves an urban working-class community, with most mothers receiving prenatal care. All deliveries at this hospital from 1987 to 1998 were studied. Infant abandonment. The rate of infant abandonment at Maternity Hospital 11 was studied from 1987 to 1998, 6 years before and 6 years after the implemented changes in mother-infant contact. The mean (+/-SD) infant abandonment rate decreased from 50.3 +/- 5.8 per 10,000 births in the first 6 years to 27.8 +/- 8.7 per 10,000 births in the next 6 years following implementation of the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative. Encouraging early mother-infant contact with suckling and rooming-in may provide a simple, low-cost method for reducing infant abandonment.
ISSN:1072-4710
DOI:10.1001/archpedi.154.5.474