Released on: 19 March 2018
A recent report finds that rates of breastfeeding in the UK are among the lowest in the world.
The International comparisons of health and wellbeing in early childhood, a report in association with the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH), finds that rates of breastfeeding in the UK are among the lowest in the world, with just 34% of babies receiving any breast milk at six months in 2010 compared with 62.5% in Sweden.
In response, Abi Wood, Head of Campaigns, NCT said:
“We’re disappointed but not surprised by these new findings. Research shows that 80% of mothers who stopped breastfeeding in the early days did so before they wanted to, and women tell us how much they value skilled support to help them continue. This support needs to be made available to all new mums who want to breastfeed.
“NCT trains 300 breastfeeding peer supporters a year, who work as volunteers helping mothers who want to breastfeed. We also provide a free helpline for all new parents, whether they decide to breastfeed, use formula or both, and there’s lots of information about feeding on our website.”
