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Breast crawl is the
instinct Instinct is the inherent inclination of a living organism towards a particular complex behaviour, containing both innate (inborn) and learned elements. The simplest example of an instinctive behaviour is a fixed action pattern (FAP), in which a v ...
ive movement of a
newborn An infant or baby is the very young offspring of human beings. ''Infant'' (from the Latin word ''infans'', meaning 'unable to speak' or 'speechless') is a formal or specialised synonym for the common term ''baby''. The terms may also be used to ...
mammal Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fu ...
toward the
nipple The nipple is a raised region of tissue on the surface of the breast from which, in females, milk leaves the breast through the lactiferous ducts to feed an infant. The milk can flow through the nipple passively or it can be ejected by smooth ...
of its mother for the purpose of latching on to initiate
breastfeeding Breastfeeding, or nursing, is the process by which human breast milk is fed to a child. Breast milk may be from the breast, or may be expressed by hand or pumped and fed to the infant. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that brea ...
. In humans, if the newborn is laid on its mother's abdomen, movements commence at 12 to 44 minutes after birth, with spontaneous suckling being achieved roughly 27 to 71 minutes after birth.


Background

The
Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative The Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI), also known as Baby Friendly Initiative (BFI), is a worldwide programme of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), launched in 1992 in India UNICEFThe Baby- ...
, developed by the
World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of ...
and
UNICEF UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to ...
, recommends that all babies have access to immediate skin-to-skin contact (SSC) following vaginal or
Caesarean section Caesarean section, also known as C-section or caesarean delivery, is the surgical procedure by which one or more babies are delivered through an incision in the mother's abdomen, often performed because vaginal delivery would put the baby or m ...
birth. Immediate SSC after a Caesarean that used spinal or
epidural anesthesia Epidural administration (from Ancient Greek ἐπί, , upon" + ''dura mater'') is a method of medication administration in which a medicine is injected into the epidural space around the spinal cord. The epidural route is used by physicians an ...
is achievable because the mother remains alert; however, after the use of
general anesthesia General anaesthesia (UK) or general anesthesia (US) is a medically induced loss of consciousness that renders the patient unarousable even with painful stimuli. This effect is achieved by administering either intravenous or inhalational general ...
, the newborn should be placed skin to skin as soon as the mother becomes alert and responsive. If the mother is not immediately able to begin SSC, her partner or other helper can assist or place the infant SSC on their chest or breast. It is recommended that SSC be facilitated immediately after birth, as this is the time when the newborn is most likely to follow its natural instincts to find and attach to the breast and then breastfeed. To find the nipple, the newborn uses a variety of sensory stimuli: visual (the sight of the mother's face and
areola The human areola (''areola mammae'', or ) is the pigmented area on the breast around the nipple. Areola, more generally, is a small circular area on the body with a different histology from the surrounding tissue, or other small circular a ...
); auditory (the sound of its mother's voice); and olfactory (the scent of the areola, which resembles that of
amniotic fluid The amniotic fluid is the protective liquid contained by the amniotic sac of a gravid amniote. This fluid serves as a cushion for the growing fetus, but also serves to facilitate the exchange of nutrients, water, and biochemical products betwee ...
).


Nine stages of breast crawl

Newborn babies go through nine distinct stages after birth within the first hour or so: * Birth cry: Intense crying just after birth *Relaxation phase: Infant resting and recovering. No activity of mouth, head, arms, legs or body *Awakening phase: Infant begins to show signs of activity. Small thrusts of head: up, down, from side-to-side. Small movements of limbs and shoulders *Active phase: Infant moves limbs and head, is more determined in movements. Rooting activity, ‘pushing’ with limbs without shifting body *Crawling phase: ‘Pushing’ which results in shifting body *Resting phase: Infant rests, with some activity, such as mouth activity, sucks on hand * Familiarization: Infant has reached areola ⁄nipple with mouth positioned to brush and lick areola ⁄nipple *Suckling phase: Infant has taken nipple in mouth and commences suckling *Sleeping phase: The baby has closed its eyes. Mother may also fall asleep.{{cite web , title=Breastfeeding After Cesarean Birth , url=https://www.llli.org/breastfeeding-info/breastfeeding-cesarean-birth/ , website=Le Leche League


References

Breastfeeding Ethology Babycare