Abstract
WHO/UNICEF's »ten step for successful breastfeeding« encourages changes in hospital routines to increase the prevalence of the breastfeeding. The ten steps include avoiding artificial nutrition without medical indications. All the hospitals in Stockholm have been evaluated about five years ago. Now days The Social department statistics shows that 94,4% of all newborns are exclusive breast-feed at the age of one week but experiences shows that newborns during postpartum care get milk substitutes to a higher rate. The purpose with this study is to analyse the newborns nutrition during the hospital focusing on: How many are not exclusively breast-fed? What substitutes are given? Why and how are they given? Which of the doctor or the midwife prescribes the substitute? During seven separate days in the springtime 1999 all newborns in Stockholm and their diet were recorded. The answers were analysed for the whole group and for separate hospital. The results disclose big differences between the hospitals about the prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding as well as the diagnosis. 26 percent of the newborns got substitutes, mostly made by cow's milk. A low blood sugar was the most common reason to give substitutes. 33% of them were cup-fed and 11% were bottle-fed. Every third newborn that received substitute get it before any attempt to breastfeeding. Doctors as well as midwifes prescribed milk substitutes.