Why Breastfeed In The First Hour Of Life?

Croatian maternity wards need help in supporting breastfeeding in the first hour of the baby’s life, says UNICEF.

In Croatia, nearly half of the maternity wards do not practice breastfeeding in the first hour of life, reports Tanja Radocaj, representative of UNICEF’s office in Croatia.

UNICEF has contacted the media for World Breastfeeding Week, whose theme for this year is “Breastfeeding: The First Hour”.

- Breastfeeding in the first hour of life can reduce the infant mortality rate and resilience to infant diseases – said Radocaj.

She added that the newborn child through its first contact, right after birth, through “skin to skin” contact gets a valuable packet of “immunisation”, and the mother a feeling of happiness and security that everything is ok with the baby.

Humanisation of maternity wards a precondition for successful breastfeeding

As a part of the program of promoting breastfeeding in Croatia, UNICEF and the Ministry of Health and Welfare, implemented the project “Maternity wards – friends of children” and the project “Together from the start”.

The coordinator of the project, prof. dr. Josip Grguric used the opportunity to stress that the humanisation of the maternity wards is a precondition for successful breastfeeding.

- Croatia through two important documents: the national plan of activities for the rights and interests of children, and the national population politics, gave its support to breastfeeding – said dr. Grguric, and added that the maternity wards carried out a self-evaluation of their work, and concluded that the conditions there were not satisfactory.

- It is necessary to create a culture of breastfeeding – said Grguric, and announced autumn rallies to support breastfeeding which will occur in Zagreb and Split.

The first hour is key for the mother and child

Milan Stanojevic, a neonatology expert in the Sv. Duh hospital in Zagreb said that birth is a great stress for the mother, as well as the child, so it is not good to separate the mother and child.

- The first hour is key for the mother and the child, who must make visual contact with the mother quickly, because that is important – said Stanojevic and added that early breastfeeding is an instinct, and has a positive effect on the psychological health of the mother and child.

Neonatology expert Zora Takanj, coordinator of the evaluation team, Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative, presented the results of the questionnaire for the self-evaluation of the maternity wards.

- Staff training is satisfactory in only 18 percent of maternity wards. Breastfeeding at request is the only step which the maternity wards described as satisfactory, in more than 80 percent of cases – said Zakanj.

It is interesting that the so called, rooming in, or keeping the mother and child in the same room in the maternity ward, is possible in 85 percent of Croatian maternity wards, but is missing in the largest maternity wards in Zagreb and in Split.