Hosp deliveries up, but early breastfeeding low

DESPITE the rise in institutional deliveries across the country, early breastfeeding in the first hour, as mandated by WHO and UNICEF, continues to be low, a report released on Friday said.

- KAVITA BAJELI-DATT @New Delhi

The best way to initiate early breastfeeding, which protects the infant from infection and reduces newborn mortality, is to ensure that hospitals—both government and private—start educating a woman about breastfeeding, right from her pregnancy to the time she is discharged after delivery, said India's sixth World Breastfeeding Trends Initiative (WBTI) assessment report, released on the occasion of World Breastfeeding Week (August 1-7).

The report by Breastfeeding Promotion Network of India (BPNI), an organization working to promote exclusive breastfeeding, said India has improved its performance on the World Breastfeeding Trends Initiative, moving from a score of 45 in 2018 to 62 in 2025, out of a maximum score of 100.