£150,000 boost for national breastfeeding helpline

A new national breastfeeding helpline - backed by £150,000 a year - that will provide practical support and information to the 450,000 breast feeding mothers in England, was launched by Public Health Minister Dawn Primarolo this month.

Studies have shown that breastfed babies are less likely to become obese in later childhood and that breastfeeding can prevent mothers having health problems later in life.

The recently launched obesity strategy outlines how the Government aims to make breastfeeding the norm by providing the helpline but also by investing in an information campaign, encouraging maternity units to promote and encourage breastfeeding and developing a best practice code for employers and businesses to facilitate breastfeeding.

Breast milk is the best source of nutrition for babies. The Department of Health recommends exclusive breastfeeding up to the age of six months, with continued breastfeeding alongside solid foods after six months. But a new report published today by the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN), shows that there needs to be more accessible and timely support for those mothers who do decide to breastfeed.

The report examines the Infant Feeding Survey of 2005 and shows that, although breastfeeding is up from 69 per cent in 2000 to 76 per cent in 2005 across the UK, the prevalence of mothers breastfeeding at six weeks is only 50 per cent in England.

The SACN report, written by experts in child health and nutrition, highlights the need to increase awareness of the benefits of breastfeeding among mothers and to provide more support for those mothers to continue with breastfeeding. There is clear evidence that adequate support to breastfeeding mothers in the first few weeks is likely to increase the duration of breastfeeding.

Support will now be provided through an easily accessible national helpline, to provide information to mothers about breastfeeding, and to promote and help to sustain breastfeeding by mothers who often encounter problems during the early weeks.

Dawn Primarolo, Public Health Minister said:

"When it comes to feeding babies, breast is best. Our challenge is to help new mums, who choose to breast feed, through those early difficult weeks and months. That's why we have launched this new helpline to give new mums support so they can breast feed for longer.

"The Helpline delivers on one of the commitments recently announced in the cross government obesity strategy. Our aim is to increase the number of mums breastfeeding for longer and we will monitor progress at 6-8 weeks. Local health authorities will gather this information and report back every quarter."

Sue Ashmore, Programme Director for UNICEF UK Baby Friendly Initiative said:

"UNICEF very much welcomes the introduction of a National Breastfeeding Helpline. There is a great deal of evidence to show that mothers who receive support from someone who believes they can successfully breastfeed continue to breastfeed for longer. The national helpline will provide easily accessible reassurance, support and practical help to all mothers in the UK and so will help to keep mothers breastfeeding who may otherwise have stopped."

The Breastfeeding Network, one of the two organisations who will make up the helpline, received around 20,000 calls last year the other organisation the Association of Breastfeeding Mothers received around more than 8,000 calls. The National Breastfeeding Helpline will be able to receive call volumes of several times that number. It is estimated that almost 10 per cent of the mothers giving birth in England call, showing not only the need but that women are motivated to seek assistance.