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Breastfeeding Initiation and Birth Setting Practices: A Review of the Literature
Author(s) -
Forster Della A.,
McLachlan Helen L.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
journal of midwifery and women's health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.543
H-Index - 62
eISSN - 1542-2011
pISSN - 1526-9523
DOI - 10.1016/j.jmwh.2006.12.016
Subject(s) - breastfeeding , medicine , affect (linguistics) , nursing , pediatrics , obstetrics , family medicine , psychology , communication
A number of practices during the intrapartum and very early postnatal period may affect breastfeeding initiation. All women should be encouraged to breastfeed soon after birth, with extra attention paid to the identification and offer of extra support for those women at higher risk of not successfully initiating and continuing breastfeeding. Factors that affect breastfeeding initiation include: implementation of the Baby‐Friendly Hospital Initiative Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding at a service level; avoidance of the use of intramuscular narcotic analgesia, particularly near the end of the first stage of labour; not separating mothers and babies after birth for routine procedures; and placing healthy newborns on their mothers' chest/abdomen (skin‐to‐skin) routinely. Single strategies are unlikely to increase breastfeeding initiation as stand‐alone measures.