Table 5.

Protocols on breastfeeding promotion and support in 89 Italian Maternity Hospitals; protocols are listed in decreasing order of availability

	Hospitals that adopted the protocol (N)	Percentage
1. Prevention of neonatal hypoglycemia	84	94.4%
2. SSC after vaginal delivery	82	92.1%
3. Check list on breastfeeding topics for antenatal classes	73	82.0%
4. Prevention of sudden unexpected postnatal collapse (SUPC)	69	77.5%
5. Zero separation and rooming-in 24/24 h	67	75.3%
6. Storage of expressed mother’s milk and human donor milk	66	74.2%
7. Responsive breastfeeding	58	65.2%
8. Prevention of in hospital neonatal fall	57	64.0%
9. Helping mothers to breastfeed	57	64.0%
10. Hospital discharge of the breastfed newborn	56	62.9%
11. Prevention and management of pain while breastfeeding	53	59.5%
12. Expression of breast milk	52	58.4%
13. Supplementing breast milk with formula	51	57.3%
14. SSC after CS	51	57.3%
15. Contraindications to breastfeeding	50	56.2%
16. Prevention and management of breast engorgement	50	56.2%
17. Prevention and management of lactational mastitis	48	53.9%
18. Thermal control of the newborn infant	47	52.8%
19. Management of early neonatal weight loss	47	52.8%
20. How to support breastfeeding in the jaundiced newborn infant during phototherapy	44	49.4%

SSC Skin-to-skin contact, CS Caesarean section