The WHO Philippines Country Office helped to develop an urgently needed Essential Intrapartum and
Newborn Care (EINC) package. From this effort, the very successful program, Unang Yakap, or “First
Embrace” emerged, referring to the immediate and uninterrupted skin-to-skin contact between mothers
and newborns that fosters a successful start to breastfeeding. The full package is based upon hospital reform initiatives, model centres of excellence, education reforms and social marketing. Within one year, 16 000 doctors, nurses, midwives and other health workers were trained in roughly 50 centers through capacity-building initiatives throughout the country. Results of this program boasted healthier newborns, increased satisfaction from mothers, and overall facility cost savings.
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