Remarks

• This recommendation has been integrated from the 2014 WHO recommendations on postnatal care of the mother and newborn (15), where it was considered a strong recommendation based on moderate-certainty evidence for neonatal outcomes.
• The postnatal care Guideline Development Group noted the following based on existing WHO documents.
• Breastfeeding counselling should be provided in both the antenatal period and postnatally, as per existing WHO guidelines (75, 76).
• All mothers should be supported to initiate breastfeeding within the first hour after birth. Mothers should receive practical support to enable them to initiate and establish breastfeeding and manage common breastfeeding difficulties (75) (see Box 3.13).
• Some exceptions to exclusive breastfeeding for term newborns are mentioned in the WHO document Acceptable medical reasons for use of breast-milk substitutes (239). These exceptions include: infants with classic galactosaemia, infants with maple syrup urine disease and infants with phenylketonuria.