The good clinical practice of Hospital II Lima Norte Callao Luis Negreiros Vega – part of the Sabogal service network of Peru’s EsSalud - Social Health Insurance Institute (EsSalud - Seguro Social de Salud) – aimed to prevent respiratory and gastrointestinal diseases in hospitalized newborns.
To this end, we established an innovative model of care that disrupted the traditional neonatal-care model. Health professionals working in the neonatal unit were trained to promote exclusive breastfeeding and to ensure that colostrum was expressed within an hour of childbirth.
The roll-out of this project increased the percentage of newborns to receive colostrum and complied with exclusive breastfeeding objectives, thereby reducing complications and the use of formula. The new care model is also in line with World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations, and it can be replicated in other health centres.