Prolonged breastfeeding after birth reduces the risk of death of babies

Too few babies get breast milk immediately after birth
About 77 million of all newborns in the world are not breastfed by their mothers within the first hour of their birth. Researchers found that this increased the risk of premature death. This happens because the newborn does not immediately receive vital needed antibodies and nutrients. Breastmilk is, so to speak, the first vaccine a baby receives.

Researchers at the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) have now found in an investigation that about 77 million newborns worldwide are not breastfed by their mothers within the first hour of birth. This shortage increases the likelihood of premature death. UNICEF published a new report with the results of its investigation.

Quick breastfeeding after birth is very important for newborns. Thus, the probability of dangerous infections and a premature death can be significantly reduced. (Image: rohappy / fotolia.com)

Newborns should be breastfed no later than two to three hours after birth
If mothers do not breastfeed their newborns within two to three hours of childbirth, the probability increases that the babies will die within the next 28 days, say the physicians. This figure even increases to eighty percent if the mother does not give the child breast milk within the next 24 hours, UNICEF staff explain in their report.

Breastfeeding could save more than 800,000 newborns every year
If newborns have to wait too long for their first contact with their mothers, this circumstance already reduces the likelihood of survival for the children, according to France Bégin, dietician of UNICEF. This will also automatically reduce the milk supply and it additionally reduces the probability of getting along without bottled milk. If all newborns were to receive only breast milk from birth until they were six months old, it could save the lives of no less than 800,000 babies each year, say the UNICEF doctors.

Mothers need to be better informed worldwide
Many mothers around the world seem to know nothing about the benefits of breast milk. Based on data from the past 15 years, many newborns are not breastfed in the first hours after birth. This problem is particularly evident in sub-Saharan Africa. This region has one of the highest mortality rates for children under five worldwide, the experts explain.

Still rates in Central and West Africa have barely changed in the last 15 years
While breastfeeding rates in East and South Africa have increased by up to 10 per cent in the last 15 years, rates in central and western Africa have remained largely unchanged. In Asia, however, infantile breastfeeding rates have increased significantly in recent years. In 2000, the value was still at about 16 percent, in today's time, the value is about 45 percent, explain the doctors. Still, 21 million newborns in this region still have to wait too long for their breast milk.

Women need experienced support at birth
Some mothers just do not get enough professional support from doctors or nurses, UNICEF explains. In countries such as North Africa, South Asia and the Middle East, some women are assisted at birth by an experienced companion. Thus, it is less likely that newborns will be breastfed until late, compared to women who, for example, with the help of their relatives or unskilled companions, births, explain the UNICEF experts.

Many children in the world receive less nutritious alternatives than breast milk
In many countries, mothers are more likely to feed their child with baby food for the first three days after birth. Often with milk from cows and sometimes with sugar water. About half of all newborns in the world are fed less nutritious alternatives than breast milk. Only 43 percent of all children under the age of six months were breast-fed exclusively with breast milk, UNICEF estimates.

Breastmilk is like a vaccine for her newborn
Breastmilk is the first vaccine for the baby, the first and best protection against disease, says Bégin. UNICEF warned that infants who are not breastfed at all have a fourteen-fold higher chance of dying prematurely compared to babies receiving only breastmilk. When newborns do not receive breastmilk, UNICEF reports the likelihood of developing and dying of severe infections by seven times compared to babies receiving only low levels of breast milk during the first six months of their lives. (As)