Early initiation of breastfeeding, exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life followed by continued breastfeeding for up to two years and beyond with adequate complementary foods after completion of 6 months of age is the most appropriate feeding strategy for infants and young children.

I have new parents asking me questions about newborn babies and thus decided to write a few articles on various aspects of newborn care and development. A newborn baby breathes more rapidly than an adult. An adult takes about 18-20 breaths in a minute compared with a newborn, who breathes in and out around 40-60 times/minute. This is because Newborn’s don’t have the lung capacity to hold a lot of oxygen so they need to breathe in and out more often.