2023-06-16 18:00:00
Breast milk has several benefits for a newborn. In particular, it contains many antibodies, which protect it once morest many childhood diseases. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends breastfeeding for a child’s first six months. According to a recent study published in the journal Pediatricsfathers play a very important role in breastfeeding as well as in putting an infant to sleep.
Involvement of fathers promotes breastfeeding
As part of this research, 250 fathers were interviewed two to six months following the birth of their child through the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS). American researchers have therefore collected data on the behaviors and experiences of men when they become fathers.
According to the results, among the fathers who wanted to breastfeed, 95% confirmed having started it and 78% said they had started it eight weeks following birth. The researchers observed that these numbers were significantly higher than those of fathers who had no opinion or did not want breastfeeding. About 69% of these men said they had started breastfeeding and 33% said they had breastfed their child from the eighth week.
“New dads are an essential audience to promote breastfeeding and safe sleep for infants”
Regarding infant sleep, nearly 99% of fathers said they put their child to bed, but only 16% applied the three practices recommended (sleep position on the back, a hard surface and the prohibition of soft bedding) by the American authorities.
“Our findings highlight that new fathers are an essential audience for promoting breastfeeding and safe infant sleep (…) Many families are missing out on the health benefits of breastfeeding because they are not receiving the support needed to breastfeed successfully Fathers should be directly involved in breastfeeding discussions and caregivers should describe the important role fathers play in successful breastfeeding In addition, fathers should receive counseling on all safe sleep practices for their children”noted Dr. John James Parker, lead author of the study, pediatrician at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago and professor of pediatrics at the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University (USA).
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