HYDERABAD: Warmth, love, security, food and the strength to fight numerous diseases, all provided through the first milk within an hour of birth, would have been missed by Alekhya’s newborn if her mother had not undergone the Caesarean (C-section) delivery at the King Koti District Hospital in Hyderabad.
“My first baby was born in a different hospital four years ago through C-section only. I wish it could also have breastfed like this,” Alekhya said, regretting that she could not even hold her first baby for two hours.
World Breastfeeding Week is celebrated every year from August 1 to 7. The World Health Organisation (WHO) emphasises the importance of skin-to-skin contact between a mother and her newborn right after birth and initiating breastfeeding within the first hour of life. For natural births, labour rooms encourage immediate breast crawl after delivery.
Yet, factors like anaesthesia, surgery stitches and holding challenges after C-sections hinder this practice. Consequently, C-section babies face prolonged waits for feeding until their mothers shift to the pre-natal ward. Nevertheless, an extraordinary initiative has emerged at King Koti District Hospital, allowing mothers who undergo C-sections to embrace breastfeeding during that crucial first hour.
Dr Jalaja Veronica, head of the gynaecology department suggested starting breastfeeding right in the operating room itself. “A nurse from the newborn care department will be present in the operation theatre itself. Once the baby is delivered, it will be given to the nurse who will take it to the paediatrician for an assessment to see if the baby is fit for breastfeeding,” explained Dr Jalaja. Meanwhile, the gynaecology team will attend to the mother’s stitches and dressing.