Assessment of the implementation of the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative in Greece.

INTRODUCTION: This report aims to outline the views of health professionals, working in maternity clinics, on the usefulness, benefits and difficulties of integrating the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI), and to illustrate their degree of awareness about it and extent to which they are informed about BHFI. METHODS: The method of qualitative research was used to conduct the study using an open-ended questionnaire and interview technique. Sixteen health professionals working in 4 hospitals and maternity clinics in Thessaloniki (Ippokrateio, Papageorgiou, Diabalkaniko, and Genesis) participated in the interviews with equal participation of individuals in the sample. RESULTS: The extent to which respondents are informed about the Βaby-Friendly Hospital Initiative is relatively satisfactory, but there is no comprehensive knowledge of the steps required by the Harmonisation Directive. Harmonisation with the guidelines proposed by the BFHI is expected to improve the quality of obstetric clinic services and lead to a reduction in costs. However, there are particular difficulties in adapting hospitals to baby-friendly practices, particularly concerning the resources required. CONCLUSIONS: Hospitals need to make significant changes in organisation, resource efficiency and utilization, and staff training, to fully integrate the BFHI, as integration of procedures is very limited and no research has been conducted in this area in Greece.