The Baby-Friendly Community and Health Services Initiative Within the Joint Action PreventNCD: Rationale, Structure and Methodology.
8 affiliations
- 1National Center for Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, National Institute of Health, Rome, Italy.
- 2Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy.
- 3Norwegian Directorate of Health, Oslo, Norway.
- 4National Institute of Public Health, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
- 5Epidemiology and Public Health Area, FISABIO Foundation - Public Health, Valencia, Spain.
- 6Public Health Department, Ministry of Health of the Republic of Lithuania, Vilnius, Lithuania.
- 7Public Health Center of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine.
- 8Department of Social and Developmental Pediatrics, Institute of Child Health, Athens, Greece.
Abstract
The first 1000 days of life are a critical period for establishing lifelong health and development. Breastfeeding, as part of the Nurturing Care Framework, provides unique immunological, nutritional, and psychosocial benefits, while also contributing to the prevention of obesity, diabetes, and other non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Despite its well-documented advantages, breastfeeding rates remain suboptimal across Europe due to systemic barriers such as insufficient parental leave, aggressive marketing of breastmilk substitutes, limited specialised training in breastfeeding support within health services and inadequate community support. Within the European Joint Action Prevent NCD (GA No. 101128023), Task 6.5 'Baby-Friendly Community and Health Services (BFC&HS)' addresses this gap by implementing and scaling up the Norwegian best practice 'Baby-Friendly Community Health Services' (BFCHS) in seven countries (Italy, Norway, Slovenia, Spain, Greece, Ukraine and Lithuania). The initiative applies to community and primary care settings, workplaces, educational institutions, and emergency response systems, with a focus on equity and vulnerable populations, through proactive outreach to underserved families, adaptation of services to local social and cultural contexts, coordinated care pathways between maternity and community services, and systematic monitoring of access and breastfeeding outcomes across key social determinants. The Task BFC&HS is structured into five subtasks: preparatory context analysis and stakeholder engagement; implementation of the BFCHS guidance through a staged Baby-Friendly designation process; capacity building via training and e-learning; creation of breastfeeding-friendly environments; and promotion of the Nurturing Care Framework. Methodology emphasises a settings-based, multisectoral approach rooted in the Ottawa Charter, combining evidence-based standards, monitoring with WHO/UNICEF indicators, and transnational knowledge exchange. By integrating breastfeeding promotion within broader health strategies, the Task aims to embed supportive environments, strengthen local health systems, and reduce inequities and to contribute to the development and testing of a potentially scalable model for addressing NCD prevention and health equity through breastfeeding promotion across several European contexts.
Related
- Bringing Cardiovascular Prevention into the Community: Protocol for an Observational Study of a Mosque-Based Health Initiative Combining Education and Cardiovascular Screening
- Exploring internalized stigma among people living with psychosis and their caregivers: Insights from a community rehabilitation initiative in Malawi
- A Randomized Controlled Trial Evaluating a Community-Based, Family Network Heart Health Intervention - the SERVE OC Trial: Design, Rationale and Baseline Findings
- Establishing a Dedicated Body Contouring Fellowship: Rationale, Structure, and a Framework for Subspecialty Training.
- Implementation strategies for integrating TB treatment into community pharmacies for people with TB/HIV in Uganda using human-centered design methodology
BibTeX
@article{zambri2026babyfriendly,
title = {{The Baby-Friendly Community and Health Services Initiative Within the Joint Action PreventNCD: Rationale, Structure and Methodology.}},
author = {Francesca Zambri and Flavia Splendore and Vincenza Di Stefano and Anne Bergljot Bærug and Gry Hay and Ann-Magrit Lona and Hanne Christine Mosand Bliksås and Gabriella Tambascia and Annachiara Di Nolfi and Tjaša Bonča and Marta García Sierra and Ieva Gudanavičienė and Nataliia Usenko and Venetia-Maria Vraila and Angela Giusti},
journal = {Maternal \& child nutrition},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1111/mcn.70229},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42876422},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - The Baby-Friendly Community and Health Services Initiative Within the Joint Action PreventNCD: Rationale, Structure and Methodology.
AU - Francesca Zambri
AU - Flavia Splendore
AU - Vincenza Di Stefano
AU - Anne Bergljot Bærug
AU - Gry Hay
AU - Ann-Magrit Lona
AU - Hanne Christine Mosand Bliksås
AU - Gabriella Tambascia
AU - Annachiara Di Nolfi
AU - Tjaša Bonča
AU - Marta García Sierra
AU - Ieva Gudanavičienė
AU - Nataliia Usenko
AU - Venetia-Maria Vraila
AU - Angela Giusti
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/01
JO - Maternal & child nutrition
DO - 10.1111/mcn.70229
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42876422
AB - The first 1000 days of life are a critical period for establishing lifelong health and development. Breastfeeding, as part of the Nurturing Care Framework, provides unique immunological, nutritional, and psychosocial benefits, while also contributing to the prevention of obesity, diabetes, and other non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Despite its well-documented advantages, breastfeeding rates remain suboptimal across Europe due to systemic barriers such as insufficient parental leave, aggressive marketing of breastmilk substitutes, limited specialised training in breastfeeding support within health services and inadequate community support. Within the European Joint Action Prevent NCD (GA No. 101128023), Task 6.5 'Baby-Friendly Community and Health Services (BFC&HS)' addresses this gap by implementing and scaling up the Norwegian best practice 'Baby-Friendly Community Health Services' (BFCHS) in seven countries (Italy, Norway, Slovenia, Spain, Greece, Ukraine and Lithuania). The initiative applies to community and primary care settings, workplaces, educational institutions, and emergency response systems, with a focus on equity and vulnerable populations, through proactive outreach to underserved families, adaptation of services to local social and cultural contexts, coordinated care pathways between maternity and community services, and systematic monitoring of access and breastfeeding outcomes across key social determinants. The Task BFC&HS is structured into five subtasks: preparatory context analysis and stakeholder engagement; implementation of the BFCHS guidance through a staged Baby-Friendly designation process; capacity building via training and e-learning; creation of breastfeeding-friendly environments; and promotion of the Nurturing Care Framework. Methodology emphasises a settings-based, multisectoral approach rooted in the Ottawa Charter, combining evidence-based standards, monitoring with WHO/UNICEF indicators, and transnational knowledge exchange. By integrating breastfeeding promotion within broader health strategies, the Task aims to embed supportive environments, strengthen local health systems, and reduce inequities and to contribute to the development and testing of a potentially scalable model for addressing NCD prevention and health equity through breastfeeding promotion across several European contexts.
SN - 1740-8695
SN - 1740-8709
ER -