ADULT AND PAEDIATRIC MEDICAL SPECIALISMS

Breastfeeding Policy of Sanitas La Zarzuela University Hospital

Sanitas La Zarzuela University Hospital is committed to fulfilling the following principles to support mothers in initiating breastfeeding:

Ensure that all mothers receive information about the benefits of breastfeeding for the nutrition and care of the newborn.

Provide a supportive environment for breastfeeding, ensuring that professionals have the necessary knowledge to offer support and information to mothers.

Foster collaboration between hospital professionals and local support groups to ensure continuity and the development of a breastfeeding culture in the local community.

Initiation of breastfeeding: All mothers should be encouraged to have skin-to-skin contact with their baby as soon as possible after birth in a calm environment, regardless of the chosen feeding method.

Teach mothers how to breastfeed and maintain lactation: All mothers should receive assistance with breastfeeding within the first 6 hours after birth.

Support exclusive breastfeeding: No beverages or artificial formulas should be given to breastfed infants, except in cases of medical indication or informed maternal choice.

Mother-infant rooming-in: The hospital commits to maintaining 24-hour mother-infant rooming-in. Mothers and infants will only be separated if the clinical condition of either requires care in another area.

Support breastfeeding on demand: Mothers will offer the breast to their infants when they signs of wanting to eat, unless there are other clinical indications.

Staff should discourage the use of pacifiers or bottles while breastfeeding is being established.

Upon discharge from the hospital, mothers will be provided with contacts for all individuals who can support their breastfeeding: professionals (pediatricians, midwives, nurses), lactation consultants, support groups.

The hospital commits to adhering to the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes.

The hospital is committed to providing friendly and humane care to mothers throughout the labor and postpartum process, fostering an atmosphere of trust, safety, and intimacy, while respecting the privacy, dignity, and confidentiality of women.

Sanitas La Zarzuela University Hospital is accredited under the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI). If you would like to consult the complete Breastfeeding Policy and the Code of Marketing of Substitutes, you can request it from the healthcare staff.

Benefits of Breastfeeding

Breastfeeding has benefits for both the mother and the baby.

Benefits of breastfeeding for the child:

Breastfed infants have a 10 times LOWER risk of requiring hospitalization during their first year of life.
Breastfeeding reduces the risk of infections such as diarrhea, pneumonia, otitis, meningitis, and urinary tract infections.
Breastfed infants decrease the risk of sudden infant death syndrome by one-third.
Breastfeeding reduces the risk of allergies, atopic dermatitis, and asthma.
Breast milk offers long-term protection against diseases such as obesity, type I diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, ulcerative colitis, and Crohn's disease.

Benefits of breastfeeding for the mother:

Breastfeeding promotes uterine contraction, decreasing the risk of postpartum hemorrhage and helping the uterus return to its normal size more quickly.
Women who breastfeed have a lower risk of breast and ovarian cancer.
Breastfeeding helps in recovering the pre-pregnancy weight more easily.
Breastfeeding reduces the risk of osteoporosis after menopause.
Breastfeeding decreases the risk of postpartum depression.
Breastfeeding creates a strong emotional bond between mother and child.

How do we promote breastfeeding from the hospital?

10+2 Steps to Promote Successful Natural Breastfeeding in Maternity:

Have a written breastfeeding policy that is systematically communicated to all staff.
Train all staff to implement the guidelines.
Inform all pregnant women about the benefits and management of breastfeeding, including training on key aspects for the best start after delivery.
Help mothers initiate breastfeeding within the first half hour after birth, regardless of the type of delivery (vaginal, instrumental, cesarean).
mothers how to breastfeed and maintain lactation even if they have to be separated from their infants.
Do not give newborns any food or drink other than breast milk unless medically indicated.
Practice rooming-in—allow mothers and newborns to stay together 24 hours a day.
Encourage mothers to breastfeed on demand.
Do not give breastfed children bottles, teats, or pacifiers.
Promote the establishment of support groups for natural breastfeeding and ensure that mothers are connected with these groups upon discharge from the hospital, providing them with available breastfeeding resources in their area.

STEP +1:

Adhere to the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes: do not advertise formula milk, do not provide free samples of milk, do not distribute gifts to pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers that promote the use of substitutes, do not allow “milk promoters” to contact mothers, and professionals should not accept financial or material incentives from manufacturers or distributors.

STEP +2:

Provide friendly and humane care to mothers throughout the labor and postpartum process, fostering an atmosphere of trust, safety, and intimacy, while respecting the privacy, dignity, and confidentiality of women.

Back to the list of specialist areas

Consult our network of centers

More infomation

Latest news and health adviceHospital Universitario La Zarzuela

The Thousand Grams of Dignity exhibition visits Sanitas' La Moraleja and La Zarzuela university hospitals.

Sanitas Hospitals centres welcome the exhibition to bring the population closer to the world of prematurity on World Prematurity Day.The exhibition will be available in the ...

More information

Sanitas' La Moraleja and La Zarzuela university hospitals obtain the Joint Commission International recognition

This recognition is considered the gold standard in global care within the hospital sphere.The Sanitas hospitals are the only two in Madrid to hold this distinction, including ...

More information

Gallery Images and videos