Child health experts have urged mothers to breastfeed their newborns within the first 30 minutes to one hour after delivery, noting that doing so is of great health benefit to the baby.
According to them, not breastfeeding early can give room for newborns to develop irreversible health complications and infections.
The experts, Idi-Araba Prof. Edamisan Temiye, a Consultant Paediatric Haematologist and Oncologist at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, and Dr. Zainab Imam, a Paediatrician, Neonatologist at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, agreed that early breastfeeding was beneficial not only to the baby but also to the mother.
Temiye warned in an interview with HealthWise that if a baby is not breastfed early enough, they may develop hypoglycemia, which is a dangerously low level of sugar in the blood.
Hypoglycaemia, Temiye warned, must be prevented at all costs because it may lead to irreversible damage to the brain of the baby.
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According to an online health portal, MedicalNewsToday, “Hypoglycaemia is the medical term for low blood sugar in newborns. It is common immediately after birth but usually corrects itself when the infant begins feeding regularly.
“Hypoglycaemia in a newborn is treatable however, without treatment; this medical condition can cause lasting damage.”
He further added that if feeding is not delayed, the problem of the baby not sucking will be solved almost immediately.
Temiye stated that feeding within the first 30mins is not only beneficial to the baby but also the mother.
The expert explained saying, “A baby should be breastfed within the first 30 minutes. Within that time the baby is still alert and will quickly grab onto the breast and interpret proper placement of the breast, and proper sucking and you will solve the problem of the baby not sucking almost immediately.
“But when you delay after about one hour or more after delivery, the baby falls asleep and it may take a longer time to get the baby to start sucking,” he said.
In addition, “The little dense milk that comes out first is rich enough to prevent the baby from developing hypoglycaemia which is low blood sugar.
“If you don’t breastfeed the baby early enough they may become hypoglycaemic and if the baby has severe hypoglycaemia it can damage the brain forever, so hypoglycaemia must be prevented at all cost because the brain of that baby may be damaged for life,” he said.
