Dr. Bangayan, the senior consultant of SPMC’s Department of Pediatrics, said that the state-run hospital has strengthened its implementation and compliance to Republic Act No. 7600 or the Breastfeeding and Rooming-in Act and Executive Order No. 51 or the “National Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes, Breastmilk Supplements and Other Related Products.”
As part of the Mother-Baby Friendly program, the mothers are always educated on the importance of breastfeeding and the exclusive breastfeeding policy during the pre-natal visits at SPMC, she said during the Kapehan sa Dabaw episode on Monday, Aug. 7, at SM City Davao.
"If they are going to deliver at SPMC, they will breastfeed exclusively," Dr. Bangayan said, emphasizing on the health benefits that the infants and mothers would get from exclusive breastfeeding.
In cases when mothers have difficulties in producing breast milk, they are assisted to collect milk from the Human Milk Bank at SPMC.
“The milk bank is actually helping those mothers having problem with milk production or those babies delivered with pre-term conditions. We have the milk bank to support us,” Dr. Bangayan said.
SPMC has also established a public discussion forum that gives women a safe place to talk about breastfeeding, especially for those first-time mothers to know the proper way of producing breast milk through demonstrations using baby dolls
Breastfeeding clinics are also present in the hospital, which are open Mondays to Fridays.
The health institution guarantees a successful implementation of the mother-baby program through its active Breastfeeding Committee, which oversees and ensures implementation of the established policies, said Dr. Bangayan.
On the guidelines on prohibiting the use of formulated milk to infants, she reiterated that mother-baby friendly certified hospitals should not be receiving support from those milk companies. (ITL/CLC, PIA-XI/ Photo from SPMC)
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