INFORMATION RESOURCES ON FOOD AND HEALTH
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Infant feeding
National Policy Context
The NHS Priorities and Planning Framework 2003-2006 set out a target that each local area must increase breastfeeding initiation rates by two percentage points per annum. In October 2007, a new PSA target was introduced to measure the 'prevalence of beastfeeding at 6 - 8 weeks'. Both sets of data is collected by PCTs and reported to the Department of Health at quarterly intervals.
The introduction of such indicators demonstrates the priority that is being given to the encouragement of breastfeeding by the Department of Health, who are supporting a partnership approach, promoting breastfeeding through primary and community health services such as GPs, health visitors and midwives, the Child Health Promotion Programme and the third sector such as the National Childbirth Trust.
For further information on breastfeeding please follow this link:
Use the following link to access the most recent data on breastfeeding initiation and prevalence rates:
The Choosing a Better Diet: A Food and Health Action Plan (2005) outlines a range of actions for improving the diets and health of infants, including encouraging breast feeding for the first six months of life, especially through National Breastfeeding Awareness Week. The Welfare Food Scheme has been replaced with the Healthy Start Scheme allowing eligible pregnant women, mothers and young children in low income families to have greater access to, and encouragement to adopt, a healthy diet.
A direct link to resources available for health professionals about Healthy Start is below:
Breastfeeding: off to the best start
A leaflet, 'Breastfeeding: off to the best start,' was published by the Department of Health in March 2007. This leaflet provides mothers with important information about feeding their baby. It states that breastfeeding gives a baby all the nutrients he needs for the first six months of life and helps to protect him from infection and other diseases.
Breastfeeding in the East Midlands: patterns, trends and data quality issues
Breastfeeding has important health benefits for both mother and child. Breastfed babies are less likely to report with gastric, respiratory and urinary tract infections and allergic diseases, while they are also less likely to become obese in later childhood. Improving breastfeeding initiation has become a national priority, and a national target has been set “to deliver an increase of two percentage points per annum in breastfeeding initiation rate, focusing especially on women from disadvantaged areas”. Despite improvements in data quality in previous years, it still remains difficult to construct an accurate and reliable picture of variations and trends in breastfeeding in the East Midlands. It is essential that nationally standardised data collection systems are put in place to enable effective and accurate monitoring and evaluation of breastfeeding status both at a local and national level.
Breastfeeding/infant feeding links
Infant Feeding Survey
The main aim of the Infant Feeding survey was to provide estimates on the incidence, prevalence, and duration of breastfeeding and other feeding practices adopted by mothers in the first eight to ten months after their baby was born.
The 2005 survey is the first to provide separate estimates for all four countries in the United Kingdom, as well as for the UK as a whole and to provide estimates of exclusive breastfeeding (where the baby is given only breast milk, no other liquids or solids).
The full and final results of the Infant Feeding 2005 survey are now available here published May 14 2007:
Infant Feeding Survey 2005: A commentary on infant feeding practices in the UK
This publication details the SACN (Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition) review of the findings from the Infant Feeding Survey 2005. This report highlights implications for policy and recommends options for improving infant feeding practices in the UK.
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PAGE CREATED: 1 April 2007 | PAGE REVISED: 29 September 2009