About 76% newborns are not breast-fed within the first hour of birth while about 40% newborns in Uttar Pradesh are not exclusively breastfed for the first six months of life, says the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) data. Doctors attribute several reasons to this.
“A Cesarean delivery is one reason, while lack of awareness is another,” said Prof Nisha, senior faculty member, department of obstetrics and gynaecology, King George’s Medical University (KGMU).
She said, “In case of a Cesarean delivery, the woman remains under anaesthesia; the woman feels drowsy and is unable to get up herself, hold the child and breastfeed it.”
Dr Amita Shukla, senior gynaecologist, SC Trivedi Memorial Trust Hospital, said, “In such a condition, the family needs to play an active role to help the woman to get up and sit in a comfortable position to breastfeed the newborn. But in a majority of families, there is no such effort by family members, despite the fact that only womenfolk from the family are there to assist the woman who has delivered the child.”
Talking about the successful effort at the KGMU, Dr SP Jaiswar, HoD, gynaecology, KGMU said, “Pregnant women come to us right from the first day and we counsel them on how to breastfeed within first hour of childbirth. As we keep counselling them till delivery, our success rate is about 100%. In some cases, the mother is unable to feed due to medical reasons and here our milk bank comes to the rescue and we are able to feed the child.”
{{/usCountry}}Talking about the successful effort at the KGMU, Dr SP Jaiswar, HoD, gynaecology, KGMU said, “Pregnant women come to us right from the first day and we counsel them on how to breastfeed within first hour of childbirth. As we keep counselling them till delivery, our success rate is about 100%. In some cases, the mother is unable to feed due to medical reasons and here our milk bank comes to the rescue and we are able to feed the child.”
{{/usCountry}}Doctors said that mass awareness sessions need to be conducted on a regular basis, particularly at first referral units, where the facility for delivery is available, followed by all health facilities where delivery takes place.
“Women, their family, elderly women in the house all need to be convinced about the importance of breastfeeding within the first hour of life,” said Prof Nisha.
“The ASHA, ANM and other health workers who visit rural and urban pockets under door-to-door health campaigns must ensure to identify and counsel pregnant women and their families,” said Dr Shukla.
The NGHS-5 was conducted in the years 2020-21 and the NFHS-4 conducted in 2015-16.