One fifth of children in “high income” countries are never breastfed.
According to a new report published by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), 21 percent of infants in wealthy countries are “missing out” on the benefits of early breastfeeding.
This compares to four percent of children in low income countries that are breastfed.
As well as this, higher income countries are often not recording levels of breastfeeding in the first hour of a child’s life.
The report says that early initiation of breastfeeding benefits “every newborn,” giving them “the best chance to survive, grow and develop to their full potential.”
However, study authors said that early initiations of breastfeeding are often not recorded by high income countries, meaning the data cannot be compared.
“The early initiation of breastfeeding benefits every newborn – no matter where they live,” they said.
“Yet many high-income countries are failing to track this important indicator of child nutrition.
“Whether delivery takes place in a hut in a rural village or a hospital in a major city, putting newborns to the breast within the first hour after birth gives them the best chance to survive, grow and develop to their full potential.”
