HOMS adds breastfeeding units and highlights the importance of sustainable systems during World Breastfeeding Week

• The Hospital Metropolitano de Santiago (HOMS) marked World Breastfeeding Week with a new breastfeeding unit and more rooms to support breastfeeding mothers.

Santiago. To mark World Breastfeeding Week, held from 1 to 7 August, the Hospital Metropolitano de Santiago (HOMS) joins the international call under this year’s theme: “Prioritise breastfeeding: create sustainable support systems”, with the opening of an additional breastfeeding unit in its refurbished Vaccination Centre, a space dedicated to supporting, educating and accompanying breastfeeding mothers.

The new unit is in line with the principles of humane, family-centred care, and joins the one already operating in the neonatal area.

Two breastfeeding rooms are also being added at the HOMS Health & Wellness Center (HHWC), with a view to continuing to add them on every floor, as well as creating special spaces exclusively for staff.

The institution notes that marking this week means recognising that breastfeeding does not happen in isolation, but in direct relation to the social, economic and health conditions that mothers and their families face.

HOMS points out that the sustainability of breastfeeding requires support systems that bring together every level: trained health staff, stable public policy, working environments compatible with raising children and continuous access to evidence-based information. These conditions allow the decision to breastfeed to be exercised freely and safely.

The hospital warns that many mothers find it hard to sustain breastfeeding because of an early return to work, a lack of professional support and environments that do not favour the practice. Added to that are environmental and economic factors that have a direct bearing on maternal and child health.

From its clinical experience, HOMS stresses the need to guarantee an inclusive and respectful approach that recognises mothers’ different realities without imposing a single model. Promoting breastfeeding must happen in a context of support, without judgement or pressure, allowing each family to make informed decisions.

The institution also recognises that gaps remain in training health staff to provide comprehensive breastfeeding care. It therefore proposes strengthening continuous training, with an emphasis on respectful support, perinatal mental health and intercultural care.

On the benefits of breastfeeding, HOMS highlights that, beyond the immediate nutritional and immunological effects, there are documented impacts on the prevention of chronic disease, on postpartum recovery and on strengthening the bond between mother and baby.

During the week, the hospital is holding educational sessions for health staff and for the families who use its services, with the aim of continuing to promote an institutional culture that supports breastfeeding from birth.

Finally, the Hospital Metropolitano de Santiago calls on health teams, authorities and families to work together so that breastfeeding is possible for those who choose it. Ensuring sustainable support systems, it says, is a shared responsibility involving every sector.

About HOMS
HOMS is a pioneer in the Dominican Republic in robotic surgery and holds international certification from Accreditation Canada (ACI) as a guarantee of safety and quality of care, positioning it as a leader in health tourism in the country and the Caribbean region.