Introducing The First 100 Hours Strategy

Helping mothers and babies breastfeed through the first days until breastfeeding and milk supply are well-established should be the goal of all clinical care providers.  Once a mother and baby reach 100 hours, it is reasonable to expect that baby will be attaching well and breastfeeding effectively and that mother’s milk volume will be sufficient to completely nourish her baby.  

 By helping every mother to avoid truly unnecessary formula supplementation in The First 100 Hours of her baby’s life, the known risks of breastmilk substitutes can be avoided.  If mother’s own expressed milk or pasteurized donor milk are unavailable, and the use of formula is required due to true medical indication, healthcare providers can properly intervene with specialized additional breastfeeding help to ensure the mother and baby can resume a normal breastfeeding course.  

Success through The First 100 Hours strategy is defined as providing thorough and appropriate breastfeeding support through the first 100 hours of a baby’s life, thus establishing the opportunity for breastfeeding to continue for a normal course.  A mother who chooses to wean completely after breastfeeding or feeding breastmilk for 100 hours has not failed.  Rather, she has given her baby a healthy start and an unparalleled immune system boost.  It is reasonable to predict that a mother who has successfully breastfed or fed breastmilk for 100 hours will continue to breastfeed beyond that timeframe, thus making six months of exclusive breastfeeding a markedly more realistic goal.