There are a number of simple and cheap actions that we can qualify as the "good practices in the first hour of life"that respect natural processes and allow mothers and babies to take advantage of their benefits.
Recently I presented a video that explained, on the occasion of World Breastfeeding Week 2009, that breast milk saves lives.
This year's campaign was aimed at raising awareness among the population, both the toilets and the general population, of how important it can be for a baby to be fed with milk from his mother, since in emergencies that can make the difference between dying or surviving In this line, and promoting simple customs that can have a huge impact on children's health, this video has been made, which talks about good practices in the first hour of life, also carried out by the Pan American Health Organization.
Two cheap and simple actions are those that have taken as an example to get them done in all maternity hospitals: timely cutting of the cord and breastfeeding in the first hour. Both actions, which do not involve any health complications, favor the health and survival of children, and improve their quality of life, whether they are children born in wealth or if they are born in a less favorable environment. They are practices that save lives.
The video explains that the timely cord cut, once it has stopped beating, it provides essential iron reserves for the child, being the most reliable identified factor to prevent anemia. In addition, as explained, it has an impact on lower respiratory problems, shorter hospitalization, lower rates of intraventricular hemorrhages and even provides the basis for optimal intelctual development.
Likewise, early breastfeeding, that is, the one started in the first hour, when the child is very receptive, favors the imprint on the baby, which fills him with confidence and tranquility, leaving an indelible mark on his brain. It also helps the mother develop the recognition bond with the child from the first moment.
Breastfeeding in the first hour, which human babies are prepared to perform without help, helps strengthen their immune system and provide them with colostrum, which has everything they need to start feeding. In the long run, mothers who were able to breastfeed from the first hour, statistically manage to breastfeed exclusively for six months and continue breastfeeding for at least two years, as recommended by international health protection agencies.
Although I would clarify some of the recommendations on childbirth care, especially the protocol administration of oxytocin after birth, the video has seemed wonderful and greatly successful both in its recommendations and in the explanations it gives about the benefit of not cutting the cord lies late, about how important it is to give the baby to the mother at the same birth and about the great nutritional, emotional and immunological value of the early breastfeeding.
I especially liked that the Pan American Health Organization, which is the regional office of the World Health Organization, exposes in this video the emotional and psychological aspects of a respected birth and skin-to-skin contact in the relationship of the mother with the child, as well as the importance that she gives to natural breastfeeding in that process.
These are issues that are often left aside or not contemplated. Its importance is considerable and the best way to improve in this field is to promote it, not ignore it. They have been brave explaining their value. That there are mothers and babies who have been deprived of the natural action of this first contact and, of course, have established a strong emotional bond, does not mean that they should promote the normal and natural way of being born and of spending the first moments of the lifetime.
In many countries of the world, respecting these simple and cheap standards would allow many children to save their lives or at least maintain a better state of health, especially by decreasing the anemia that forces them to advance and make complementary feeding much more forceful. That, where resources are great, can be assumed, but there are millions of children who do not have these facilities.
Also in rich countries this is necessary. As the documentary notes, premature cord cutting is related to greater problems in the baby and, without a doubt, early breastfeeding favors the state of health of the newborn. The fact that that time immediately after birth is not interrupted by unnecessary protocols is essential so that these magical moments are not disturbed. The baby deserves to reach the respected world, next to his mother, without avoiding what he is programmed to do.
Hopefully these simple measures are carried out in all the maternity centers of the world and the protocols are urgently adapted to properly attend with these good practices the first hour of life, getting human beings to reach the world and receive the best welcome.
