Fewer babies get the breast start

8:42am Wednesday 20th August 2008

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Fewer mums are breastfeeding their babies in Bradford than in other parts of the country.

According to the Department of Health, 62.5 per cent new mums in Bradford and Airedale initiated breastfeeding in the days after giving birth, compared with a national average rate of 78 per cent. The figure for the district is also down on the previous year’s 64.4 per cent.

This compared poorly with other European countries, where take-up reached 99 per cent.

The Department of Health recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of a baby’s life, as breast milk provides “all the nutrients a baby needs at this time”.

Breast milk is also said to protect babies from infection and diseases such as gastro-intestinal infections, ear infections, urine infections, eczema and obesity in later childhood.

But of the 78 per cent of mothers in England who started breastfeeding, only 22 per cent were still doing it at six months, the 2007-08 figures showed.

The DoH announced it would be investing an extra £2 million to help improve the UK’s breastfeeding rate, and in particular help mums in deprived areas. It is likely to include cash for health trusts to set up breastfeeding support groups and provide more specialist nurses.