Evaluation of Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative: Comparing Clients’ and Providers’ Perspective

Background: By creating supportive hospital environments, WHO and UNICEF's Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) encourages breastfeeding. By contrasting the viewpoints of patients (mothers and families) and medical staff in baby-friendly hospitals, this study assesses the efficacy of BFHI and pinpoints its advantages and disadvantages in promoting breastfeeding and maternal health. Objective: The purpose of this study is to compare how customers and providers see the BFHI initiative and assess hospital BFHI practices. Methods: Five postpartum wards from five tertiary hospitals in Lahore were randomly chosen for a cross-sectional study. With comorbidity excluded, 413 multiparous females in the postoperative obstetric ward were included in the study. Over the course of eight visits, 10 customers and 75 providers were randomly chosen from each ward. A Likert scale (1–4) was used in the structured questionnaire used to collect the data, and scores more than 3 were deemed satisfactory. For the analysis, SPSS 23 was utilized. Results: With 100% agreement on six out of ten questions and 98.7% on four, providers demonstrated a high level of satisfaction. Significant results were indicated by the p-value of less than 0.001. Client satisfaction varied greatly, with a low of 8.2% agreeing to avoid artificial teats and a maximum of 88.6% agreeing to exclusive breastfeeding support. Conclusion: BFHI was viewed well by both clients and providers, with clients reporting satisfaction ranging from 8.2% to 88.6% and providers indicating 98.7–100% satisfaction. It is advised that both populations receive more health education.