Children born through caesarean section are at higher risk of death and disease as they are not breastfed within the first hour of their life, UNICEF and WHO have said in a new report.
Statistics from the report reveal that in Kenya, 75 per cent of infants delivered through C-section does not get a chance to breastfeed in the first hour of their life compared to 40 per cent of those born normally.
The report feeding notes that newborns who breastfeed in the first hour of life are significantly more likely to survive.
The report, dubbed Capture the Moment, Early Initiation to Breastfeeding, was released on Tuesday.
It says that contact between mother and baby protects newborns with ‘good’ bacteria from their mother’s body – a critical step in developing the baby’s gut health and immune system.
Breastfeeding rates within the first hour after birth are highest in Eastern and Southern Africa (65%) and lowest in East Asia and the Pacific (32%), the report says.
The report notes that surgical deliveries as one of the reasons that reduce the likelihood of immediate skin-to-skin contact and the early initiation of breastfeeding
Globally, caesarean sections have increased from an average of 13 per cent in 2005 to more than 20 per cent in 2017. – The Star
