3 out of 5 babies not breastfed in first hour of life : WHO

An estimated 7.8 crore babies or three in five are not breastfed within the first hour of life, mostly in low- and middle-income countries causing an increased risk of death and disease and making them less likely to continue breastfeeding, according to a new report released by UNICEF and WHO.

World Breastfeeding Week, which is celebrated every year from 1 to 7 August, aims to highlight the immense benefits of breastfeeding, while also encouraging mothers to breastfeed and improve the health of babies.

“When it comes to the start of breastfeeding, timing is everything. In many countries, it can even be a matter of life or death,” says 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. Mothers simply don’t receive enough support to breastfeeding within those crucial minutes after birth, even from medical personnel at health facilities.”

The report states that newborns who breastfeed in the first hour of life have a greater likelihood of survival. If delayed for a few hours after birth could cause life-threatening consequences. Skin-to-skin contact along with suckling at the breast stimulates the mother’s production of breastmilk, including colostrum, also called the baby’s ‘first vaccine’, which is extremely rich in nutrients and antibodies.

According to the report breastfeeding rates within the first hour after birth are highest in Eastern and Southern Africa (65%) and lowest in East Asia and the Pacific (32%), the report says. Nearly 9 in 10 babies born in Burundi, Sri Lanka, and Vanuatu are breastfed within the first hour. By contrast, only two in 10 babies born in Azerbaijan, Chad, and Montenegro do so.

“Breastfeeding gives children the best possible start in life,” says Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “We must urgently scale up support to mothers – be it from family members, health care workers, employers, and governments, so they can give their children the start they deserve.”

Read Also: WHO issues new guidance to promote breastfeeding in health facilities

Data analyzed from 76 countries by Capture the Moment finds that though initiation of early breastfeeding is very important many newborns have to wait too long for different reasons, including:

• Feeding newborns food or drinks, including formula: Common practices, such as discarding colostrum, an elder feeding the baby honey or health professionals giving the newborn a specific liquid, such as sugar water or infant formula, delay a newborn’s first critical contact with his or her mother.


• The rise in elective C-sections: In Egypt, cesarean section rates more than doubled between 2005 and 2014, increasing from 20% to 52%. During the same period, rates of early initiation of breastfeeding decreased from 40% to 27%. A study across 51 countries notes that early initiation rates are significantly lower among newborns delivered by cesarean section. In Egypt, only 19% of babies born by C-section were breastfed in the first hour after birth, compared to 39% of babies born by natural delivery.


• Gaps in the quality of care provided to mothers and newborns: The presence of a skilled birth attendant does not seem to affect rates of early breastfeeding, according to the report. Across 58 countries between 2005 and 2017, deliveries at health institutions grew by 18 percentage points, while early initiation rates increased by 6 percentage points. In many cases, babies are separated from their mothers immediately after birth and guidance from health workers is limited. In Serbia, the rates increased by 43 percentage points from 2010 to 2014 due to efforts to improve the care mothers received at birth.

Previous studies show that newborns who began breastfeeding between two and 23 hours after birth had a 33% greater risk of dying compared with those who began breastfeeding within one hour of birth. Among newborns who started breastfeeding a day or more after birth, the risk was more than twice as high.

The report appeals that a strong legal action should be taken by governments to restrict the marketing of infant formula and other breastmilk substitutes.

For reference log on to WHO