Did you know that if you place a newborn on his mother’s abdomen after birth, he is capable of finding her breast all on his own and initiating breastfeeding by himself? This act is known as the breast crawl and it is being heavily promoted during World Breastfeeding Week.
All Babies Do This
This phenomenon was first published in an organized study in 1998. Infants were dried off and then immediately placed on their mother’s abdomen with the baby’s head on mom’s chest. Every single infant was able to instinctively find his mother’s nipple and begin suckling. In subsequent studies, there were some infants that required help in attaching but could reach the nipple on their own. Only one infant out of several studies didn’t move and didn’t make any rooting movements or display organized feeding patterns.
If you think about it, this makes sense. Animals are designed with instincts that keep us alive. (Think about the ‘fight or flight’ rush of adrenaline when faced with something scary or dangerous?) Infants root when they are hungry and it’s not until they learn to communicate their needs through other means that they stop rooting. In fact, if you always pick up your infant when he roots, you are unlikely to hear as much crying!
But How?
Babies are constantly learning through their senses in utero. Many mothers observe when their infant is born that he recognizes the mother’s voice. You’ll notice that during pregnancy, your nipples grow darker which is a visual stimulus for your infant for this very purpose. Babies also can smell breast milk and actually can smell the difference between your breast milk and someone else’s.
Why Should Babies Do the ‘Breast Crawl’?
Awhile ago, I wrote an article about ‘Baby Friendly Hospitals’ where breastfeeding is strongly encouraged to the point where formula must be ordered by a pediatrician. It’s controversial because some mothers find that they’re being forced to breastfeed, but I argue that encouraging breastfeeding saves money for the hospital in the decreased incidence of illness. According to statistics from WABA and WHO 16% of neonatal deaths could be saved if all infants were breastfed from day 1 and 22% if breastfeeding were started within the first hour after birth.