Private hospitals may pursue Unicef programme for breastfeeding
Four facilities may pursue a Unicef recognition that uses 10 measures to promote the practice
The city may get its first private hospitals with a Unicef "baby-friendly" accreditation in a few years, after they take steps to steer new mothers away from feeding their infants milk formula, the UN agency said yesterday.
"Receiving free infant formula samples should be banned entirely because it is a kind of marketing activity to discourage breastfeeding," said Dr Patricia Ip Lai-sheung, chairwoman of the Unicef initiative.
At least four private hospitals are reportedly expressing an interest in applying for the recognition, which requires that they follow 10 measures to promote breastfeeding.
One is to stop accepting or giving away free milk formula samples, starting this year. Free samples were banned in the public sector in 2010.
In public hospitals, the number of mothers who breastfeed their babies has more than doubled since the government banned distribution of free formula samples, according to a survey by the University of Hong Kong's school of nursing.