World Breastfeeding Week 2018 is celebrated every year, from August 01 – 07, to promote awareness regarding the importance of Breastfeeding.
According to the UNICEF and WHO Report on Breastfeeding, an estimated 7.8 crore newborns are not breastfed within the first hour of life globally – mostly from Low and middle income countries, including India.
Breastfeeding initiation within an hour after birth,
India - Increased from 23.4% in 2005 to 41.5% in 2015.
Global – Increased from 37% to 42 % in 2015
It is highest in Eastern and Southern Africa (65 per cent) and lowest in East Asia and the Pacific (32 per cent)
It says that the newborns who began breastfeeding between two and 23 hours after birth had a 33 % greater risk of death compared with those who began breastfeeding within one hour of birth.