If the Breast Crawl is evidence based, why is it not being practised?
Many health personnel in maternity services are probably not aware of implementing the recommendation to ‘Initiate breastfeeding within an hour of birth’. Routines and procedures established on the grounds of efficiency or for supposed scientific reasons may also interfere. As a result, the initiation of breastfeeding is often delayed. In these circumstances, awareness and practice of the Breast Crawl is next to impossible. Even in those places where health professionals are well informed and keen to initiate breastfeeding within an hour of birth, awareness of the Breast Crawl is lacking. Few textbooks, other than the book by Dr. Klaus, mention this phenomenon or vividly describe the techniques of initiation. The Breast Crawl is not a part of standard medical or health curriculum. WHO and UNICEF BFHI documents that recommend initiating breastfeeding within an hour of birth subtly describe the process of the ‘Breast Crawl’. However, a precise method needs to be described with clarity. T
