An estimated 78 million babies – or three in five – are not breastfed within the first hour of life, putting them at higher risk of death and disease and making them less likely to continue breastfeeding, say UNICEF and WHO in a new report. (Reuters)

Breastfeeding right after birth helps save babies’ lives: UN report

An estimated 78 million newborns are at a higher risk of death and disease each year because they do not get their mothers’ first breastmilk rich with nutrients and antibodies within the first hours of being born, according to a new report by the United Nations.

Only two out of five babies are breastfed immediately after being born, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said Monday in a study that included 76 low and middle-income countries.

The report notes that 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.

The report says skin-to-skin contact along with suckling at the breast stimulate the mother’s production of breastmilk, including colostrum, the naturally produced “superfood” rich in nutrients and antibodies also referred to as the baby’s “first vaccine.”

“When it comes to the start of breastfeeding, timing is everything. In many countries, it can even be a matter of life or death,” said Henrietta H. Fore, UNICEF executive director. “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.”

Very often mothers simply don’t receive enough support to breastfeed within those crucial minutes after birth, even from medical personnel at health facilities, Fore added.

Breastfeeding rates within the first hour after birth are highest in Eastern and Southern Africa (65 per cent) and lowest in East Asia and the Pacific (32 per cent), the report says. Nearly nine-in-ten babies born in Burundi, Sri Lanka and Vanuatu are breastfed within the first hour. By contrast, only two-in-ten babies born in Azerbaijan, Chad and Montenegro do so.

The report had no data for Canada.

The study cited several reasons why many babies are not breastfed, including the practice of discarding the mother’s first milk, an elder feeding the baby honey or health professionals giving the newborn a specific liquid, such as sugar water or infant formula.

Rising numbers of Caesarean sections have also led to a decrease in breastfeeding, according to WHO and UNICEF.

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