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Clinical Characteristics of a Group of Cameroonian Neonates with Delayed Breastfeeding Initiation

The timely or Early Initiation of Breastfeeding (EIBF) within the first hour following childbirth is known to be a determining factor for the overall breastfeeding process. Nevertheless, in some cases there may exist a considerable delay in its start. This could be responsible for disorders in neonate infants, with varying severity. The main objective of this survey was to determine particular clinical characteristics of a group of neonates with delayed breastfeeding initiation, compared with that of neonates with early breastfeeding initiation (EBFI), during the first week of life. We did an analytical cross-sectional study with the notion of timely breastfeeding initiation according to the World Health Organization (WHO), used to distinguish neonates. The study was conducted at the Yaounde Gynaeco-Obstetric and Paediatric Hospital from December 2018 to May 2019. All livebirth infants weighing > 2000g were recruited during the period of study. From an overall sample of 250 neonates, 153 (61.2%) had delayed breastfeeding initiation, while 97 others had EIBF. All neonates with delayed breastfeeding initiation had other characteristics of inadequate breastfeeding practices. Although 144 (94%) were in good health immediately after birth, 38 (24.8%) were hospitalized within 7 days, of which 21 (55.2%) were related to sepsis and 6 (15.7%) due to metabolic disorders. They represented 83.3% (15 out of 18) infants with hypotrophy. Therefore, the late initiation of breastfeeding may induce inadequate breastfeeding practices, with significant repercussions on the neonate’s health condition, including nutritional disorders such as metabolic disturbances, growth retardation, increased susceptibility to neonatal infections and eventually, the rate of hospitalization during the given period of time on. Mothers’ education, medical staff and family encouragements may help promote timely breastfeeding initiation, so as to limit adverse neonatal outcomes.