Chapter 13 – The First Feeding

As soon as they come into the world, the newborn, placed on the mother’s body, moves their little hands around to explore a somewhat unknown yet familiar territory. They grab onto whatever they can, push forward, slowly shift, press their open mouth here and there until they find the nipple — their target. They latch on, at first clumsily. Then, after a few adjustments, more securely. And finally, they suck with satisfaction and relax.
It’s an incredible scene in its tenderness and natural perfection — the so-called “breast crawl” (30), the climb toward the breast that every newborn instinctively attempts if placed on the mother’s body and left undisturbed, guided by touch, smell, and taste. This is how the first feeding begins spontaneously, right after birth.

As we’ve seen, the sucking reflex is innate, and already in the fetal state, the baby is capable of feeding.

The first half-hour after birth is the best moment to promote the start of breastfeeding because it coincides with a phase of wakefulness and activity in the baby, known as Quiet Alert and Active Alert states. Once that phase ends — usually about 30 to 60 minutes later — the newborn generally falls asleep.

The World Health Organization (WHO) acknowledges and supports the experience of skin-to-skin contact at birth and the early initiation of breastfeeding, which has many positive effects on the baby’s development (31). Colostrum, the first milk produced by the new mother, is a concentrate of antibodies and proteins that stimulate the immune system, protecting the baby from the risk of respiratory and intestinal infections. It also has a laxative effect that helps the intestines eliminate meconium, the waste substance produced by the baby’s digestive system during pregnancy, and promotes the maturation of the intestinal lining.

Skin-to-skin contact stabilizes the baby’s body temperature and promotes the transfer of the mother’s bacterial flora to the baby’s body before other, non-beneficial and potentially harmful microbes colonize the baby’s mucous membranes. An initial bacterial transfer already occurs during birth, through the birth canal. If the baby is born via cesarean section and misses that passage, early skin-to-skin contact becomes even more important. That’s why WHO recommends this practice even when the baby is born by surgery. It’s an even more valuable resource in the case of premature birth. Thanks to Kangaroo Mother Care, the baby maintains proper body temperature even without an incubator, heart rate stabilizes, oxygenation improves, and the risk of hypoglycemia is reduced.
This is confirmed by the results of a meta-analysis published in the journal Pediatrics (32). A team of researchers from Boston reviewed over 1,000 studies on mother–baby skin-to-skin contact, selecting 124: the results showed that Kangaroo Mother Care reduces mortality risk by 36%, protects the baby from serious infections such as sepsis, and supports successful breastfeeding.
According to the meta-analysis, it increases the likelihood of exclusive breastfeeding at hospital discharge by 50%, with positive effects on feeding duration: when mothers and babies can stay close after birth, breastfeeding lasts longer.

Early latching to the breast is also helpful for the mother, as nipple sucking stimulates oxytocin production, which in turn promotes uterine contractions, placenta expulsion, and quick reduction of blood loss.

Lastly, but no less importantly, skin-to-skin contact in the first moments after birth is the most magical way for mother and baby to reunite.
It helps the mother and her baby establish a first bond of mutual knowledge and love — the foundation of secure attachment that will support calm and balanced development of the child in the coming months and years.
Mutual understanding deepens even further in the following days if the new mother has the opportunity to remain in continuous contact with the baby, day and night, getting used to the baby’s rhythms and needs and learning to recognize the signals and respond promptly.
Today, almost all birth centers offer rooming-in, meaning that mother and newborn share the same room 24 hours a day during hospitalization, without being separated, so that newly initiated breastfeeding can be strengthened.