The Doctor José Molina Orosa University Hospital, a center affiliated with the Ministry of Health of the Government of the Canary Islands, joins World Breastfeeding Week, which is celebrated under the slogan "Breastfeeding: a sustainable start in any circumstance. Let's strengthen actions that work", and does so by highlighting the work carried out by the midwives on the Gynecology ward, a key care figure for supporting women after childbirth and promoting a safe start to breastfeeding.
The first hours after birth are decisive for both establishing breastfeeding and the mother's recovery. Therefore, the Molina Orosa Hospital has midwives who, along with the rest of the healthcare team on the Gynecology ward, provide continuous care, both during the day and at night, precisely the period when a greater number of consultations related to the initiation of breastfeeding are concentrated and when mothers usually require closer support.
During 2025, the Doctor José Molina Orosa University Hospital attended 1,016 births, in which 1,027 babies were born. In the first half of this year, 459 births have been registered, with a total of 467 newborns, figures that reflect the care activity of the delivery room and the Gynecology and Obstetrics ward.
Comprehensive Support
The work of the midwives on the Gynecology ward goes far beyond advising on the first feeds. During hospitalization, they offer individualized care to resolve doubts that arise after childbirth, help establish effective breastfeeding, and detect difficulties that may appear during the first days of the newborn's life early on.
Likewise, they support both women who wish to breastfeed and those who opt for formula feeding, offering information on lactation inhibition when necessary and advising on the correct preparation of bottles, always with respect for each family's decision.
To facilitate this support, the unit has different support resources, including breastfeeding pillows, breast pumps, nipple shields, relactation systems, and oral syringes, tools that allow for the management of more complex situations and promote the maintenance of breastfeeding when difficulties arise.
Staff midwives also monitor mothers whose babies remain admitted to Pediatrics or Neonatology due to prematurity or other complications, visiting those units to offer specific advice and foster the bond between mother and child.
The team of midwives points out that "most breastfeeding difficulties arise during the first 48 hours after childbirth. Being able to be by the mothers' side at that moment allows us to resolve many doubts before discharge and give them the necessary confidence to continue when they return home."
Continuity of care beyond discharge
Support for families does not end with discharge. Midwives coordinate the continuity of care with Primary Care midwives and with the Specialized Breastfeeding Support service, to which they refer cases requiring closer monitoring through home postpartum care.
In addition, they collaborate closely with pediatric specialists in the outpatient clinic area to care for newborns who need additional breastfeeding support during the first weeks of life and act as reference midwives for obstetric emergencies related to the postpartum period and breastfeeding during weekends and holidays.
A model validated by results
According to activity data, from June 2025 to June of this year, the exclusive breastfeeding rate at Molina Orosa is 47 percent, artificial feeding is 17 percent, while supplemented breastfeeding accounts for 36 percent. These figures show that almost half of mothers in Lanzarote continue to opt for breastfeeding as a feeding method for their baby.
Added to this is the high degree of satisfaction expressed by mothers. A survey conducted by the hospital reveals that 95.8 percent of women were satisfied with the amount of information received about breastfeeding, 87.5 rated the quality of that information positively, and 91.7 percent highlighted the treatment received from healthcare professionals.
Commitment to the health of mothers and newborns
The Doctor José Molina Orosa University Hospital has maintained for years its commitment to the promotion, protection, and support of breastfeeding as part of its accreditation as a Center Committed to Excellence in Care within the BPSO initiative and promotes practices based on scientific evidence and continuous training of its professionals.
In addition, the center is in the first Phase of the Initiative for the Humanization of Childbirth and Breastfeeding Care (IHAN) promoted by the WHO and UNICEF to encourage maternity wards, health centers, and neonatal units in Spain to adopt practices that protect, promote, and support humanized childbirth and exclusive breastfeeding from birth.
Benefits of breastfeeding
Breastfeeding provides significant benefits for both the mother and the newborn. It fosters the emotional bond, contributes to a better recovery after childbirth, and reduces the risk of diseases such as breast and ovarian cancer. In babies, it provides antibodies, promotes cognitive development, and helps prevent infectious diseases and other short- and long-term health problems.
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