L-R: Teresa Maria T. Ribaño, MD (Member, Mother-Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative [MBFHI] Committee); Rita Espiritu-Dolendo, MD (Chairperson, Department of Pediatrics);
Rosalie R. Montenegro (President & CEO); Joel Anzano, Concepcion Fabella-Sanchez, and Jimbo Vitudio from the DOH;
Anna Lisa A. Lopez-Gabriel (Co-Chair, MBFHI Committee); Johnny B. Sinon, MD (Medical Director);
Nora C. Figueroa-Santos, MD (Co-Chair, MBFHI Committee); Mila D. Uy, MD (Director, Hospital Accreditation);
and Ramon T. Reyles, MD (Chairperson, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology)
Makati Medical Center has been granted reaccreditation by the Department of Health (DOH) as a MotherBaby Friendly Hospital on January 10, a testament to MakatiMed’s commitment to compassionate maternal services and effective breastfeeding practices.
The accreditation is in line with the MotherBaby Friendly Hospital Initiative (MBFHI), launched by the DOH in 1992 in line with the Rooming-in and Breastfeeding Act of 1992 (RA 7600). In this law, all private and government hospitals offering maternity and newborn care may be accredited as “Mother-Baby Friendly” if they implement the “10 Steps to Successful Breastfeeding” adopted from the global Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO).
The 10 steps include having a written breastfeeding policy, training healthcare staff to implement the policy, teaching mothers to practice rooming-in or staying with their infant in the same room 24 hours a day, and breastfeeding within half an hour of birth.
The goal of the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) is to encourage optimal breastfeeding practices through exclusive and early initiated breastfeeding, which has been proven to protect infants against different infectious and chronic diseases and essential for cognitive development.
The accreditation is the culmination of several months of preparation by the Departments of Pediatrics and Obstetrics and Gynecology. MakatiMed’s first received accreditation as a Mother-Baby Friendly Hospital was in 2015.
In 2017, MakatiMed was also granted accreditation as a Mother-Baby Friendly Workplace. The MotherBaby Friendly Workplace Certificate aims to promote and encourage breastfeeding in work places in the private and public sectors. MakatiMed inaugurated its Lactation Services and Human Milk Bank in the same year at the Newborn Services Unit, 5th Floor Tower 1, ensuring that every infant in need will have access to safe human milk according to the standards set by the Philippine National Committee on Human Milk Banking.
For more information, please contact MakatiMed On-Call at +632.8888 999, email mmc@makatimed.net.ph, or visit www.makatimed.net.ph
