India has reported a significant decline in children under three years of age who are breastfed within one hour of birth. According to the National Family Health Survey – 5, among 22 states and Union Territories, Sikkim has reported the sharpest decline of 33.5 percent in initiating breastfeeding within an hour of birth.

Why is breastfeeding important for both the child and the mother?

Breastfeeding is the most ideal constituent as it has high nutritive value. Breast milk has good factors like Sodium potassium and calories. It is considered to be the best meal for the baby.

Common breastfeeding mistakes and how to avoid them with newborns?

Dr. Anand Bhatia states “Most of the Indian women are unaware of the valuable importance of breastmilk and feeding. They try to find alternative options to breastfeeding on a wide range. There are a number of additional myths and misconceptions about breastfeeding that prevent it from being as widely accepted as it should be. Good food is equivalently as important as awareness of breastmilk production and feeding. There is no substitute for breastmilk and it is the only ideal thing needed.”

How long do babies carry their mother’s immunity?

There are a lot of vaccines available that can be given to the baby for immunity. Generally, the measles vaccine is given after 9 months of the body as it is not required early on as mother breast milk has maternal antibodies which can fight measles infections. Mothers' breastmilk is known to have Immunoglobulin A which aids in recovery, growth, and development. Important antibodies of breastmilk are measles, and Para-Aminobenzoic Acid (Paba). There are 100 to 200 factors good factors in breastmilk and some of them can protect the baby from malaria.

Development of child immunity in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic

There were a number of articles related to vaccines and vaccine development. The healthcare sector had become a vital factor during that period of time as health was taken quite seriously. There are a lot of articles circulating among pediatricians in relation to COVID immunization. The beginning of 0 to 18 years is known to be the pediatric period. Dr. Anand Bhatia is quite positive about having vaccines for babies and has a strong assumption that trials and updates will be found in the future.

Relation between breastfeeding and child growth

Breastfeeding the baby is absolutely necessary for the first 6 months of the baby’s life. It is commonly seen that women tend to incline towards breastfeeding the baby for 6 months, but that should not be the case because the baby needs breastfeeding for up to 2 years of age. Complimentary feeding and breastfeeding should be done together. Lakhs of babies are dying because of a lack of breastfeeding. The mother should breastfeed the child irrespective of their Health complications like COVID-19, tuberculosis or HIV positive also the mother should breastfeed. There is no absolute contradiction between breastfeeding. Breastfeeding the child is a must because the Brain and body development both get significantly progress. Problems like Growth retardation, Short stature, Hypertension and Mental retardation are seen if there is a delay in breastfeeding or no breastfeeding.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention “Among infants born in 2019, most (83.2%) started out receiving some breast milk, and 78.6% were receiving any breast milk at 1 month. At 6 months, 55.8% of infants received any breast milk and 24.9% received breast milk exclusively.” 

Dr. Anand Bhatia states “ Breastfeeding is very important. Consulting the nearest expert doctor should be the first step to attaining information about breastfeeding. They will help you to Understand the benefits and ways of breastfeeding. One breastfeeding session’s duration should be of 15-20 minutes and the second breastfeeding cycle should also be the very same. Foremilk is the milk that your baby drinks at the beginning of a feeding, and hindmilk follows it. The baby should be wide awake for 20 minutes during the breastfeeding period. The child then can sleep for 3 hours and the mother can rest her lower back and body accordingly which will lead to better baby future growth.”

Thus, a mother should always provide breastmilk to the child for overall development and well being of her child.

(Edited by Elvis Almeida)