Early Initiation of Breastfeeding

This chart shows early initiation of breastfeeding details by country.

Breastfeeding or nursing is feeding of babies and young children with milk from a female breast.Breastfeeding should be started during the hour after birth and allowed as the baby wishes.During the first few weeks of life babies may nurse eight to twelve times a day. The duration of a feeding is usually ten to fifteen minutes on each breast. The frequency of feeding decreases as the child gets older.Some mothers pump milk so that it can be used later when their child is being cared for by others.Breastfeeding benefits both mother and baby.Infant formula does not have many of the benefits.