OBJECTIVE: To characterize how babies are fed during their hospital stay and after hospital discharge from a Baby-Friendly Health Care Institution, using indicators proposed by the World Health Organization. METHODS: This investigation was performed 30 days after the binomial's discharge, through a telephone interview with the puerperal woman. Data from medical records constituted secondary sources of information. RESULTS: It was observed that, even though newborns had come from these institutions, some of them were weaned early from breastfeeding. CONCLUSION: Some factors were shown to be associated to weaning in the studied sample, such as the small percentage of binomials placed in skin-to-skin contact and early suction, mothers who smoked, the use of pacifiers and the use of dairy complements during the hospital stay.
Breast feeding; Weaning; Baby-friendly hospital initiative
