Breast Crawl

What is a breast crawl? According to Breastcrawl.org, "every newborn, when placed on the mother's abdomen, soon after birth, has the ability to find its mother's breast all on its own and to decide when to take the first breastfeed." This technique is being promoted by UNICEF, WHO and WABA and is part of the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding.

As part of the L.A.T.C.H. module what to expect in the first 2 weeks, we usually present a video of a breast crawl. Previously, we used a video depicting an Indian mother filmed in 2005. We have been fortunate enough to obtain a video filmed in the Philippines likewise depicting a breast crawl. I'm still trying to obtain a copy of the video for uploading but in the meantime, I'm sharing the video of a Maharashtra mom and baby doing the breastcrawl.

Recently, fellow L.A.T.C.H.er Mec shared about the institution of the Essential Newborn Care protocol in Asian Hospital - where she's giving birth. The breast crawl is included in this protocol, which is said to reduce infant mortality. I'm not sure which other hospitals have instituted this protocol but this definitely something to consider when choosing which hospital to give birth at in the Philippines.

Update - 28 July 2010. Thanks to Claire for sharing the Philippine breast crawl video!