The Process for Assessment and Awards
It consists of two components. The first is the health facility's self-assessment, which includes responses to essential questions as well as an objective score. If the score is equal or greater than 50%, the facility is eligible for external assessment. If not, it is given technical guidance and assistance in order to improve its scores.
Second phase is external assessment carried out by an authorised "External Assessor". The authorized assessor's responsibility is to validate self-assessment findings, check for staff competency, and supervise the health institution. Following a review and analysis of the hospital's compliance with the standards, a numerical score will be assigned to each standard/criterion as identified in the Tools.Based on the findings of the external assessment, the health facility is assigned a 'Grade from 1-5' in descending order of performance. The hospital that receives Grade-1 will be issued a certificate as "Breastfeeding Friendly Hospital"-implementing Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding".
Following accreditation as long as the hospital's accreditation is valid, the hospital is required to share their monthly data every six months, in June and December, using the standard excel-based software tool available in the BFHI-India web portal to monitor breastfeeding data in maternity hospitals or in your own format, where the data is regularly checked and updated.
The BFHI-India National Accreditation Centre determines accreditation decisions based on the results of the external assessment and grading guidelines.