Why Is Breastfeeding So Important In Child Development

Today countries around the world start celebrating World Breastfeeding Week, which this year emphasizes the importance of breastfeeding in the first hour of life.

World Breastfeeding Week (WBW) 2007 is encouraging breastfeeding in the first hour of life because research shows that early initiation and exclusive breastfeeding for six months can save lives. This is the reason behind this year’s WBW catchphrase: “Breast Feeding the 1st Hour – Save One Million Babies”.

World Breastfeeding Week is supported by a number of global and national organizations, including the World Health Organization (WHO), who are keen to promote awareness about the importance of breastfeeding soon after birth because of the lifelong health benefits of receiving a mother’s first milk, colostrum, the “perfect food for every newborn”.

A 2006 study published in the journal Pediatrics suggested that 41 per cent of newborns that die in the first month of life could be saved if breastfed in the first hour of life. The WHO also says feeding colostrum in the first hour increases the likelihood babies will continue to be breastfed which gives them a head start in the “race against malnutrition“. There are 170 million underweight children in the world and 3 million of them die every year.

Colostrum is a sticky yellow-white substance yielded by the mother’s breast soon after birth. It is rich in antibodies and essential nutrients. Yet, in many cultures, ignorant of its health benefits, the custom is to throw it away. Giving newborns water or other liquids denies them a “good start in life” says the WHO, referring to the WHO Child Growth Standards and how babies fed colostrum within the first hour of being born measure up well against the standards.

Breastfeeding in the first hour or so after birth also confers benefits to the mother, such as improved lactation and less loss of blood.

This year, the theme “Breast Feeding the 1st Hour” is also linked with another phrase: “Welcome Baby Softly”. The idea of this theme is to encourage health professionals to “protect” the first hour after birth and help mother and baby bond in a natural, uniterrupted way and maximise the chance the infant will latch onto the breast and stimulate lactation.

President of the International Lactation Consultant Association (ILCA), Rebecca Mannel said that newborns are programmed to find the breast and will often find it by themselves when placed on the mother’s chest, skin to skin. “In the early moments after birth, babies are in a quiet, alert state and ready to learn”, said Mannel in a prepared statement.

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