''More than half of newborns not breastfed in first hour raising health risks'': UNICEF

UNICEF: The United Nations Children’s Fund UNICEF on Friday said that more than half of newborn babies are not breastfed within the first hour of after birth, putting them at high risk of disease and death, emphasizing sub-Saharan Africa as an area of concern.

Feeding babies within an hour of birth passes on critical nutrients, antibodies and skin contact with their mothers that can protect them, UNICEF said.

UNICEF said;

Delaying breastfeeding by two to 23 hours after birth increases the risk of a baby dying in its first month by 40 per cent and delaying by 24 hours or more increases the risk of death to 80 per cent.

According to studies, newborns account for almost half of all deaths of children under age 5.

The campaigner for early breastfeeding after birth, estimates that every year about 77 million babies around the world are not breastfed within the first hour of their life as it estimates that about 130 million babies are born each year.
In a statement, UNICEF senior nutrition adviser France Bégin said;

“Breast milk is a baby’s first vaccine, the first and best protection they have against illness and disease.”

“Making babies wait too long for the first critical contact with their mother outside the womb decreases the newborn’s chances of survival, limits milk supply and reduces the chances of exclusive breastfeeding.”

Measures to promote early breastfeeding have been slow, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, where mortality rates for children under age 5 are high, UNICEF said.

Early breastfeeding rates pushed up to 60 per cent in 2015 from 51 per cent in 2000 in East and Southern Africa and were unchanged in West and Central Africa, it said.

In South Asia, rates of early breastfeeding tripled from 2000 but 21 million newborns a year are not breastfed in the first hour, UNICEF said.

Amid the drawback UNICEF said, doctors, nurses and midwives assisting births in the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia are less likely to promote early breastfeeding than are unskilled attendants or relatives assisting.

In some countries UNICEF said it is traditional to feed a baby infant formula, cow’s milk or sugar water in its first three days.

UNICEF said if all babies were fed nothing but breast milk from birth to six months, more than 800,000 lives could be saved each year.

According to UNICEF, 43 per cent of infants less than 6 months old all over the world, are fed breast milk exclusively. Those who are not breastfed at all are 14 times more likely to die than those fed only breast milk, it added.

The data were published ahead of World Breastfeeding Week running from August 1 to August 7 in more than 170 nations world wide.