Staggering stats: UK “worlds worst” at breast feeding

An international study has shown that breastfeeding rates in the UK are the lowest in the world.

The data shows that as little as one in 200 mums are still breastfeeding after a year- or 0.5% compared with 23% in Germany 56% in Brazil and 99% in Senegal.  The rate of UK mums that give breastfeeding a try is 81%, but by 6 months the rate of Mums still breastfeeding drops to 34%.

There is also a surprising difference between the UK and the USA. In the States, 79% started out, at the 6 month mark 49% were still breast feeding and 27% after a year.

Current recommendations in the UK are that babies should be breastfed exclusively for the first six months before moving onto a combination of breast milk and food.

It is internationally recognised that breastfeeding is best for baby and also lowers the risk of breast and ovarian cancer, however Save the Children and the World Health Organization are concerned that formula milk is being promoted at the expense of breastfeeding.  The World Health Organization state “The active and aggressive promotion of breast milk substitutes by their manufacturers and distributors continues to be a substantial global barrier to breastfeeding”

Sarah Redshaw from the BabyCentre website believes that it’s crucial to bear in mind the various barriers and challenges faced by mums when it comes to breastfeeding.  She goes on to say that generally mums are aware that breastfeeding is best for their baby but often don’t get the right support if they encounter problems in the early weeks- which many do.  As a result, many UK mums give up on breastfeeding.

If you’re struggling with breastfeeding or have any worries or questions about it, remember your midwife or Health Visitor is always there to help.

To view the research see here

For more on this story see BBC article here