Early Initiation of Breastfeeding
Abstract
Globally, only 2 out of 5 newborns began breastfeeding within an hour of birth in 2017, leaving an estimated 78 million newborns to wait over 1 hour to be put to the breast, according to a new report from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO). Putting newborns to the breast less than 1 hour after birth—referred to as early initiation of breastfeeding—is an important start to life. It saves lives and provides long-term health...