According to United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and World Health Organization (WHO), around 78 million babies or three in every five are not breastfed within the first hour of the birth, putting them at a higher risk of death and disease and making them less likely to continue breastfeeding.
Most of these babies are born in low- and middle-income countries.
According to the report, newborns who breastfeed in the first hour of life are significantly more likely to survive. Even a delay of a few hours after birth could pose life-threatening consequences.
It should be noted that skin-to-skin contact along with suckling at the breast stimulates the mother’s production of breast milk, including colostrum, also called the baby’s ‘first vaccine’, which is extremely rich in nutrients and antibodies.
UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta H. Fore said, “When it comes to the start of breastfeeding, timing is everything. In many countries, it can even be a matter of life or death,” adding, “Yet each year, millions of newborns miss out on the benefits of early breastfeeding and the reasons – all too often – are things we can change. Mothers simply don’t receive enough support to breastfeed within those crucial minutes after birth, even from medical personnel at health facilities.”
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