220,000 Babies Can Be Saved Every Year If Breastfed Within The First Hour of Birth
Throughout human history, Malnutrition stands as one of the leading causes of infant deaths. Apart from being an epidemic in its own right, Malnutrition also contributes to complications like diarrhea and pneumonia. In order to tackle this head-on, doctors around the world offer new mothers simple techniques to combat this, with the chief method being to breast feed their children. It has been proven that 220,000 babies can be saved each year, if they are breast fed within the first hour of giving birth.Breastfeeding not only helps reduce the chances of malnutrition, but also gives babies a head start in the race against malnutrition. Your newborn is not just the only one who benefits from this process either. Along with boosting lactation and reducing the loss of blood after birth, the overall health of a mother sees a marked improvement, and also helps with your child’s development.
In addition to such points, other facts also add up to show how breastfeeding can be beneficial to your new born:
Mother Nature Has Programmed Your Child To Feed:
In the moments that following the birthing process, newborns are in a quiet, alert and ready-to-learn state. Born with a heightened sense of taste, particularly for the taste of breast milk, babies are programmed to find their mother’s breast, and will often find it unaided, when placed on the mother’s chest.
READ: 8 Benefits of Breastfeeding
Body Contact Between Mother And Child Is Vital:
Research has shown that babies who are breastfed soon after birth, tend to be calmer, and also cry less. During this process, direct skin-to-skin contact with their mother helps keep the newborn warm, regulates its heart and respiratory rates, and also regularizes the appropriate amount of oxygen intake after birth. Studies into this phenomenon indicates that babies tend to adjust their system according to their mother’s system, therefore picking up on the body temperature, heart rate and many other vitals that it needs to develop.
Why is colostrum important for the baby?
Colostrum is the first milk that your body produces for your baby. Secreted during pregnancy and through the early days of breast feeding, it offers your newborn the best form of nutrition, being rich in protein, carbohydrates and other antibodies, and low on fat, all ingredients that are tailor-made to keep your baby happy and healthy. An immune factor, which is crucial to your child’s well-being, known as secretory immunoglobulin A (IgA), can also be found in high quantities, which goes a long way in ensuring that your child is well-equipped to fight off any potential illnesses.
An added benefit of Colostrum is its easily digestible nature, which helps the child to not only easily consume your breast milk, but also helps act as a laxative to clean the stomach and aids in passing stool, which is crucial for preventing jaundice. Colostrum also contains leukocytes, which in turn aids in creating lymphocytes, a crucial requirement for your child’s immune system to destroy viruses and disease-causing bacteria.
READ: Breastfeeding Tips for New Mothers
Advantages of breastfeeding extend beyond birth
Breast feeding can continue to reap benefits well after the initial days. Babies who have been exclusively been breast fed for six months suffer from lesser chances of ear infection, respiratory illnesses and bouts of diarrhea. Breastfeeding can also help reduce the chances of diabetes, owing to Colostrum’s nature of being able to reduce the chances of metabolic syndrome.
