A Unique Child: Health - Breast is best

There is overwhelming evidence that breastfeeding provides the best nutrition for babies and brings health benefits for both mother and child - and it is free, so can help every child get a healthy start in life. Yet occasionally there are conflicting stories on breastfeeding in the media, so we felt it important to set the record straight.

Public Health England (PHE) recommends breastfeeding exclusively for the first six months of a baby's life and after that giving breast milk alongside solid food. Despite this, breastfeeding rates at birth in the UK are among the lowest in Europe at about 74 per cent, and this drops to 47 per cent at six to eight weeks.

One reason for this could be an unaccommodating environment; nearly two in three mothers report that they have been on the receiving end of unsupportive comments or behaviour while breastfeeding in public.

The truth of the matter is that breastfeeding is one of the best things a mother can do for her baby's, and her own, health, and is the normal, natural way to feed a baby.

Breastfeeding ensures babies' nutritional needs are met, encourages optimum development and resistance to infection, and helps to create a close and loving bond between mother and child.

Looking at this more closely, we know that breastfeeding for three months in the first year of a baby's life reduces the risk of childhood asthma by 27 per cent, type 1 diabetes by 23 per cent and childhood obesity by 7 per cent.

Breastfeeding for six months redu- ces the risk of lower respiratory tract infections by 72 per cent and gastroenteritis by 64 per cent. With four to six months of exclusive breastfeeding, the risk of sudden unexpected death in infancy is reduced by 36 per cent.

In addition to this, mothers who breastfeed benefit from a faster return to pre-pregnancy weight and possibly a lower risk of breast and ovarian cancer.

SUPPORTING MOTHERS

Nearly all women can breastfeed successfully, but almost everyone needs support when they are starting out.

A particularly valuable resource is the National Breastfeeding Helpline (0300 100 0212), which gives mothers the chance to speak to trained breastfeeding counsellors between 9.30am and 9.30pm every day.

Early years settings, including nurseries, also have an important role to play in helping mothers to breastfeed. Nurseries can promote services that will provide sustainable, high-quality, universal and targeted support for mothers who are least likely to breastfeed and who are at risk of poor health outcomes. This is central to delivering better long-term health for children and having a positive impact on reducing health inequalities.

Mothers who return to work but wish to continue to breastfeed should be encouraged and enabled to do so. Expressed breast milk provided for babies in early years settings should be labelled, stored safely and used only for that child. Advice on expressing and storing breast milk can be obtained from a health visitor, online from NHS Choices or the Association of Breastfeeding Mothers.

PHE offers advice on breastfeeding for parents and professionals through its Start4Life campaign, details of which are at www.nhs.uk/start4life/breast-feeding and www.nhs.uk/start4life/professionals.