ISLAMABAD: A report by Unicef and the World Health Organisation, released ahead of World Breastfeeding Week starting today (Wednesday), estimates that three in five – 78 million – babies are not breastfed within the first hour of life, putting them at a higher risk of death and disease and making them less likely to continue breastfeeding.

According to the report, 44pc of newborns are put to the breast within the first hour of birth. But this average masks dramatic disparities in breastfeeding rates across countries. The Global Breastfeeding Collective, a WHO and Unicef led group, aims to improve the rates of early breastfeeding initiation to 70pc.

Of the 129 countries whose data is available, only 22 currently meet this target. The overall rate of exclusive breastfeeding for infants under six months is 40pc; only 23 countries have achieved at least 60pc exclusive breastfeeding for infants below six months, the report said.

Unicef, WHO release report ahead of World Breastfeeding Week

This problem is particularly seen in the Americas, where only 6pc of countries have an exclusive breastfeeding rate above 60pc. The collective has established a target to increase the rate of exclusive breastfeeding to at least 60pc by 2030.

Breastfeeding is the best way to provide infants with the nutrients they need. The WHO recommends exclusive breastfeeding starting within one hour after birth until a baby is six months old. Nutritious complementary foods should then be added while continuing to breastfeed for up to 2 years or beyond.

The report notes that newborns who are breastfed in the first hour of life are significantly more likely to survive. Even a delay of a few hours after birth could pose life-threatening consequences.

According to Pakistan Demographic and Health Surveys, breastfeeding rates have not seen desired improvements over the last decade (37pc in 2006 and 38pc in 2012). This combined with an increasing trend in bottle-feeding rates (32pc in 2006 and 41pc in 2012) has resulted in an undesirable situation for newborn and child health and survival.

In Pakistan, Unicef is supporting federal and provincial governments ensure measures to enforce the protection and promotion of breastfeeding.

The most recent multiple indicator cluster surveys in Pakistan show encouraging improvement in exclusive breastfeeding in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan. KP has recently evidenced an increase in its exclusive breastfeeding rate by 10pc and is currently at 57pc, while GB is standing at 63pc.

Published in Dawn, August 1st, 2018