Learning Outcomes

When you have studied this session, you should be able to:

• Explain the benefits of breast milk for the newborn and the advantages of exclusive breastfeeding for the mother and newborn.
• Describe the steps in establishing optimum breastfeeding through good positioning of the mother and good attachment of the baby to the breast.
• Describe how to counsel the mother who is HIV-positive on feeding options for her baby to reduce the risk of transmitting HIV through breast milk.
• Describe how newborns lose heat and how to prevent hypothermia by using the ‘warm chain principle’.