After an inspection last Tuesday, the Department of Health (DOH)-7 is not certifying the Cebu Puericulture Center and Maternity House, Inc. as a mother-baby friendly hospital.
It was the third round of assessment for the maternity hospital by the DOH team since last year.
Dr. Josie Ann Danes, coordinator of the DOH’s Health Facility Development Section, said the private facility still had deficiencies but would not elaborate because the report is still being finalized.
The certificate of commitment (COC) for a “mother-baby friendly hospital program” is a requirement for the renewal of the hospital’s permit to operate.
Danes said the hospital still has a chance to get the COC since renewal of its license is due in October.
“We don’t impose sanctions. We just gave them recommendations on what to do,” Danes said.
It was the third assessment by the DOH assessment team. The first visit was in October 2013 while the second visit was in January 2014.
The hospital remains embroiled in controversy over the practice of taping pacifiers in the mouths of infants in their nursery.
Bicycle advocate Ryan Noval and his wife Jasmine Badocdoc posted Facebook photos of their newborn son Yohannes last May 9 showing the baby’s upper lip taped with adhesive.
Their complaint is being investigated by an inter-agency panel led by the Commission on Human Rights, which is due to release its findings soon.
The DOH-7 assessment team which visited the hospital this week is comprised of representatives from the Health Facilities Development Section, Health System Development Section, Licensing Section and Maternal Child Health Section.
Hospitals are required under Philippine law to adopt breast-feeding and “rooming in” for mothers who deliver babies in their facilities.
To be certified as “mother-baby friendly” the hospital has to practice the “Ten Steps to Successful Breast-feeding” based on the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) and World Health Organizations (WHO) guidelines.
Step no. 9 prohibits the use of pacifiers to breast-feeding infants.
The maternity hospital said it follows this policy but that there were exceptions when the infant is born premature, or is sick or has a condition that requires a pacifier as determined by the physician.
The assessment team still has to schedule their next visit at the maternity hospital.
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