Early Essential Newborn Care
22 July 2022 | Questions and answers
Early Essential Newborn Care (EENC) is an essential package that includes immediate skin-to-skin contact between you and your baby shortly after the baby is born.
EENC transfers life-saving warmth, placental blood and protective bacteria from the mother to the newborn. This simple act of love makes your baby pinker, calmer, stronger and healthier.
EENC promotes a natural bond between you and your baby.
EENC initiates exclusive breastfeeding, where babies are provided all the essential nutrients, antibodies and immune cells to protect them against diseases. Prolonged skin-to-skin contact is recommended for no less than 90 minutes.
Kangaroo Mother Care or KMC is care for preterm infants through prolonged and continuous skin-to-skin contact. It is initiated in the hospital and can be continued at home with adequate support and follow-up.
KMC:
- improves the health and well-being of infants born preterm or low birth weight,
- promotes better bonding between mother and child,
- facilitates exclusive breastfeeding, which strengthens the baby’s immune system, and
- provides effective thermal control, reducing the risk of hypothermia.
Fathers can also provide skin-to-skin contact through KMC.
Exclusive breastfeeding is where the infant only receives breast milk without any additional food or drink, not even water, for the first 6 months.
Exclusive breastfeeding protects your baby from common childhood illnesses such as diarrhoea and pneumonia, and helps with a quicker recovery if the infant falls ill.
Exclusive breastfeeding also contributes to health and well-being of mothers: helps to space children, reduces the risk of ovarian and breast cancer, and is a secure and low-cost way of feeding.
Early Essential Newborn Care (EENC) improves the condition of all babies including those who are premature, sick or born by caesarian section.
Consult your healthcare provider to ensure you receive Early Essential Newborn Care. It should be available everywhere for every baby including low-birth weight, premature babies or even babies born by caesarean section.
At birth, a newborn’s stomach is only the size of your thumbnail and requires a very small amount of milk per feed. As you keep breastfeeding, their stomach grows and your milk supply will too.
Your baby will let you know when he or she has had enough by closing her or his mouth and taking no more breast milk.
Try breastfeeding 8 to 12 times over the day and night, when the baby shows early feeding cues.
Early signs that a baby is ready to breastfeed include drooling, then mouth opening, licking and biting of their fingers or hand. It can take several attempts before a baby is able to breastfeed successfully. Health workers should give mothers and babies time and space to try, and support them when necessary.
Worries about not producing enough milk are common. But, with the right support, virtually every mother can produce enough breast milk for her baby or babies' needs. It’s all about supply and demand. The more you breastfeed, the more milk you produce. So, rather than supplement with infant formula (which will again reduce demand and therefore supply), try to breastfeed more frequently.
Absolutely! Breastfeeding has many immediate and long-term benefits for mother and child:
- Protection from diarrhoea, pneumonia and other common illnesses for the baby
- Lower risk of overweight, obesity, diabetes and leukemia in childhood and adolescence
- Reduced risk of breast and ovarian cancer, diabetes and postpartum depression for the mother
Adjust the baby’s position and attachment to resolve nipple pain while breastfeeding.
Good feeding position:
- Baby’s head and body are in a straight line (neck is not twisted or flexed)
- Baby is facing the breast, with nose toward the nipple
- Mother is holding the baby’s body close to her body and supporting the baby’s whole body (not just neck and shoulders)
Signs of good attachment:
- More areola is visible above the baby’s mouth than below
- Mouth is wide open with the lower lip turned outward
- Baby’s chin is touching the breast
- Baby’s sucking is slow and deep with occasional pauses
Yes. Mother and baby should stay together unless there’s a valid medical reason not to.
When mother and baby have direct skin-to-skin contact immediately after birth, this really helps get breastfeeding established.