TABLE 1.
Certified Baby-Friendly Hospitals, Implementation of the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes, and Length of Maternity Leave: Latin America and the Caribbean, 2008–2009
| Country | Code Implementation (Year Implemented)a | Certified Baby-Friendly Hospitals,b No. (%) | Weeks of Maternity Leave,c No. |
| Argentina | Many provisions in law (2007) | 26 (2) | 13 |
| Bolivia | Many provisions in law (2006) | 2 (1) | 11 |
| Brazil | Law (1992, 2002, 2007) | 325 (8) | 17 |
| Chile | Voluntary code or policy (1982, 1992) | 35 (NA) | 18 |
| Colombia | Many provisions in law (1992) | 53 (NA) | 12 |
| Costa Rica | Law (1994, 1995) | 10 (34) | 17 |
| Cuba | Few provisions in law (no date) | 57 (NA) | 18 |
| Dominican Republic | Law (1996) | 8 (6) | 12 |
| Ecuador | Voluntary code or policy (1993) | 104 (38) | 12 |
| El Salvador | Measure drafted, awaiting approval (1993) | 23 (52) | 12 |
| Guatemala | Law (1983) | 6 (15) | 12 |
| Honduras | Voluntary code or policy (2005) | 11 (23) | 12 |
| Mexico | Many provisions in law (1996) | 692 (NA) | 12 |
| Nicaragua | Many provisions in law (1999) | 12 (NA) | 12 |
| Panama | Law (1995) | 5 (16) | 14 |
| Paraguay | Few provisions in law (1993) | 18 (10) | 12 |
| Peru | Law (1982) | 91 (36) | 13 |
| Uruguay | Many provisions in law (1994) | 11 (NA) | 12 |
| Venezuela | Law (1982) | 9 (NA) | 18 |
Note. NA = not available.
International Code Document Centre, Penang, Malaysia. Key to categories:
Law: These countries have enacted legislation or adopted regulations, decrees, or other legally binding measures encompassing all or nearly all provisions of the Code and subsequent World Health Assembly (WHA) resolutions on breastfeeding. Countries with older measures that have not incorporated subsequent WHA resolutions have been downgraded to a lower category; likewise, laws with narrow scopes have also been downgraded.
Many provisions in law: These countries have enacted legislation or adopted regulations, decrees, or other legally binding measures encompassing many provisions of the Code and subsequent WHA resolutions. Laws that cover only infant formula have been downgraded to a lower category.
Few provisions in law: These countries have enacted legislation or adopted regulations, decrees, or other legally binding measures encompassing few of the provisions of the Code or subsequent WHA resolutions.
Voluntary code or policy: In these countries the government has adopted all or most of the provisions of the Code and subsequent WHA resolutions through a voluntary code, a government policy, or another nonbinding measure. However, there are no enforcement mechanisms.
Measure drafted, awaiting approval: In these countries, a draft law or other draft measure exists to implement all or most of the provisions of the Code and subsequent WHA resolutions, and the draft is pending approval/adoption as law.
UNICEF. Available at: www.unicef.org/nutrition/files/nutrition_statusbfhi.pdf. Updated with information from Bolivia, Brazil, Costa Rica, Guatemala, and Paraguay from 2009 Pan-American Health Organization survey. Number of hospitals abstracted from Health in the Americas (Washington, DC: Pan American Health Organization, 2007).
World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action. Available at: http://www.waba.org.my/whatwedo/womenandwork/pdf/MaternityProtectionChartAug2008.pdf.