Breastfeeding—An Essential Newborn Nutrient

Abstract

Breastfeeding is an art/skill. Globally, it is gaining a steady prominence as World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) have specified exclusive breastfeeding for the initial half year. They have likewise offered significance to initiation of breastfeeding within half an hour to 1 hour after birth that has a critical effect on the developing infant as the colostrum in the breast milk supports immunity in the developing baby and newborn child, following birth helps in invigorating the posterior pituitary, release of Oxytocin and thus helps in uterine contraction and forestalls postpartum hemorrhage in postnatal mothers.

Analysis of data from 123 countries shows that babies are breastfed at some point in their lives. However, the rate shifts between low-income, middle-income and high-income countries. It is evaluated that in low- and middle-income countries, approximately 4% of children are never breastfed, while in high-income countries it is 21%. As indicated by the WHO, in excess of 20 million infants are born weighing under 2.5 kg and unfortunately developing nations are facing the brunt of this.

One of the WHO Global Targets 2025 is to increase the rate of exclusive breastfeeding in the first 6 months up to at least 50% to improve maternal, infant, and young child nutrition. Unfortunately, only 38% of infants aged 0 to 6 months are exclusively breastfed globally.

Numerous factors contribute to produce a positive situation for breastfeeding. Within the health care organizations, mothers need information and support to breastfeed immediately after birth and beyond. Indeed, studies have discovered that implementation of breastfeeding interventions within the health care organizations and community can possibly expand the rates by 2.5 times.

In India, government has implemented 6 months maternity leave that benefit many working mothers to exclusive breast feed their newborns.

Breastfed children perform better intelligence tests, and are less likely to be overweight and diabetic in later life. If the breastfeeding rate improves in compared to the current rates, then additional 20,000 deaths can be prevented due to breast and ovarian cancer. Studies have found that exclusive breastfeeding can have influence on development of milestones. An ability that a child must achieve by a certain age is developmental milestone. The milestones can be physical, social, emotional, cognitive and communication skills like walking, sharing, expressing emotions, identifying familiar sounds, and talking.·

Keywords

breastfeeding - health - postpartum - newborn - nutrient - nutrition

Publication History

Article published online:
10 October 2022

• References

• 1 World Health Organization. Global Breastfeeding Scorecard, 2019: Increasing Commitment to Breastfeeding through Funding and Improved Policies and Programmes (No. WHO/NMH/NHD/19.22). World Health Organization; 2019
• 2 World Health Organization. Global Data Bank on Infant and Young Child Feeding. Geneva: WHO; 2009
• 3 UNICEF. UNICEF Global Databases—Infant and Young Child Feeding. New YorkUNICEF 2015. Accessed July 28, 2022, at: http://data. unicef. org/nutrition/iycf. html
• 4 Omer-Salim A, Suri S, Dadhich JP, Faridi MMA, Olsson P. Theory and social practice of agency in combining breastfeeding and employment: a qualitative study among health workers in New Delhi, India. Women Birth 2014; 27 (04) 298-306
• 5 Kumar PH, Devgan A. The Association of Breastfeeding with Childhood Asthma: a case-control study from India. Cureus 2021; 13 (11) e19810
• 6 Singh S. The Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Bill, 2016: A Critical Analysis. Space and Culture, India, 2016; 4 (02) 22-28
• 7 Kushwaha KP, Sankar J, Sankar MJ. et al. Effect of peer counselling by mother support groups on infant and young child feeding practices: the Lalitpur experience. PLoS One 2014; 9 (11) e109181
• 8 McFadden A, Siebelt L, Marshall JL. et al. Counselling interventions to enable women to initiate and continue breastfeeding: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Int Breastfeed J 2019; 14: 42
• 9 Anstey EH, Chen J, Elam-Evans LD, Perrine CG. Racial and geographic differences in breastfeeding—United States, 2011–2015. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2017; 66 (27) 723-727
• 10 Li R, Darling N, Maurice E, Barker L, Grummer-Strawn LM. Breastfeeding rates in the United States by characteristics of the child, mother, or family: the 2002 National Immunization Survey. Pediatrics 2005; 115 (01) e31-e37
• 11 Cascone D, Tomassoni D, Napolitano F, Di Giuseppe G. Evaluation of knowledge, attitudes, and practices about exclusive breastfeeding among women in Italy. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2019; 16 (12) 2118
• 12 Ching C, Zambrano P, Nguyen TT, Tharaney M, Zafimanjaka MG, Mathisen R. Old tricks, new opportunities: how companies violate the international code of Marketing of Breast-Milk Substitutes and Undermine Maternal and child health during the COVID-19 pandemic. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2021; 18 (05) 2381
• 13 Gupta A, Dadhich JP, Faridi MMA. Breastfeeding and complementary feeding as a public health intervention for child survival in India. Indian J Pediatr 2010; 77 (04) 413-418
• 14 Cherry K. What is an identity crisis. Retrieved on Monday 2018; (March): 19
• 15 Rollins NC, Bhandari N, Hajeebhoy N. et al; Lancet Breastfeeding Series Group. Why invest, and what it will take to improve breastfeeding practices?. Lancet 2016; 387 (10017): 491-504
• 16 Victora CG, Bahl R, Barros AJ. et al; Lancet Breastfeeding Series Group. Breastfeeding in the 21st century: epidemiology, mechanisms, and lifelong effect. Lancet 2016; 387 (10017): 475-490