Breastfeeding babies within hour of birth protects against infections —UNICEF

A nutrition specialist with the United Nations Children’s Fund, Ada Ezeogu, says women should be encouraged to embrace early initiation of breastfeeding within an hour of birth to protect their babies against infections.

According to her, early initiation of breastfeeding is critical to child survival and protects newborns against infections, especially during the neonatal period.

Ezeogu noted that early initiation and exclusive breastfeeding provide the first immunisation for babies.

The nutrition specialist disclosed this during a two-day media advocacy meeting in Lagos organised by the National Orientation Agency in the state in collaboration with UNICEF.

The meeting which centred on child survival was aimed at raising awareness about the uptake of routine immunisation and the importance of nutrition in the first 1000 days.

The UNICEF nutrition specialist said every mother that is breastfeeding should start early, noting that it has huge benefits in the reduction of infant mortality.

The World Health Organisation recommends that every newborn baby has to feed breast milk within one hour after birth and feed colostrum.

According to the WHO, human breast milk is the optimal feeding for all children.

“Optimal breastfeeding includes early initiation of breastfeeding, exclusive breastfeeding for six months, frequent feeding, continuous breastfeeding for two years, and increase the frequency of feeding during illness,” WHO added.

Ezeogu explained, “Early initiation is important because the timing of starting breastfeeding is very critical to child survival.

“Mothers who put their babies to the breasts within the first hour of life ensure that those children are protected from life-threatening consequences.

“The longer babies wait for the first contact with their mothers, the greater they are at risk of death.”

According to the nutrition expert, early initiation is very important, especially in that one month of life.

“So, early initiation on its own saves lives. The period of early initiation gives effective protection for the newborn child because the first milk that comes out which is colostrum has antibodies.

“It has protective agents that protect the child against illnesses. So, that child is preserved. Early action and exclusive breastfeeding provide the first immunisation for babies.

“In Nigeria, early initiation is at 23 per cent. We want every child that is delivered to be placed to the breast within one hour,” she said.

Ezeogu identified cultural practices and lack of awareness as some of the barriers to the early initiation of breastfeeding by mothers.

She urged the media to focus their awareness on the first 1000 days of life and promote those behaviours that would enable households and mothers to key into this window of opportunity that provides a child with a good start in life.

The first 1000 days she reiterated is a tremendous window of opportunity to ensure that the foundation for healthy growth and development of a child is laid.

In a 2019 cross-sectional study published in BioMed Central journal, the Ethiopian researchers said neonatal mortality could be prevented by 33 per cent if early initiation of breastfeeding was practised by mothers.

The researchers stated that late initiation of breastfeeding leads to high neonatal morbidity and mortality, stressing that early initiation of breastfeeding reduces the newborn risk of infections.

The researchers said, “Early initiation of breastfeeding has different health benefits like increase ability to defend against infections, reduce the risk of diarrhoea and increase the survival rate of children. Neonatal mortality can be prevented by 33 per cent if early initiation of breastfeeding is practised by mothers.

“Colostrum is the first milk that is very important for newborns in protection against infections. Since the first milk is rich in immunoglobin G, colostrum has a great role in disease resistance.

“Many articles reveal that bacterial, viral, fungal and protozoa infection of the newborn baby can be reduced by feeding colostrum. According to different studies, children who didn’t feed colostrum were more likely to develop many infections, stunting, underweight, and wasting.”

Similarly, PubMed Central, a digital repository of the United States National Center for Biotechnology Information, says early initiation of breast milk within an hour, and exclusive breastfeeding in the first six months of a child’s life is critical for infant survival.

Punch