During delivery

A hospital or health centre that is ‘baby-friendly’ provides the support women need to breastfeed – specifically by following the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding (external link, data charges may apply). These facilities also counsel mothers who cannot or have decided not to breastfeed by teaching them how to use donor milk or feed safely with formula.

In countries like Sri Lanka and Turkmenistan, baby-friendly hospitals have been instrumental to increasing rates of breastfeeding. Almost 90 per cent of women in Turkmenistan, and almost all mothers in Sri Lanka give birth in hospitals certified as baby-friendly, and both countries have high rates of early breastfeeding initiation.

Early initiation of breastfeeding is significantly lower in newborns delivered by C-section. Mothers who deliver by C-section usually face multiple challenges after childbirth, like managing the effects of anesthesia, recovering from surgery, and finding help to hold the baby safely. But with the right support – training birth attendants, putting breastfeeding policies in maternal wards, and involving fathers in breastfeeding – most newborns delivered by C-section can be put to the breast within the first hour.