Breastfeeding

Encouraging and supporting breastfeeding is recognised as an important public health activity.

There is good evidence that breastfeeding in infancy has a protective effect against many childhood illnesses. Breastfed infants are likely to have a reduced risk of infection, particularly those affecting the ear, respiratory tract and gastro-intestinal tract. This protective effect is particularly marked in low birth weight infants.

Other probable benefits include improved cognitive and psychological developments, and a reduced risk of childhood obesity. There is evidence that women who breastfeed have lower risks of breast cancer, epithelial ovarian cancer and hip fracture later in life.

A key section of the 2007 Scottish Government action plan 'Better Health, Better Care' lays out the benefits of giving children the 'best possible start'. These actions include encouraging NHS Boards to increase the proportion of newborn children who are exclusively breastfed.  A health improvement target has been set to increase the proportion of newborn children exclusively breastfed at 6-8 weeks in Scotland from 26.2% in 2006/07 to 32.7% in 2010/11 (an increase of 25%).

Support and encouragement for breastfeeding can be provided at many levels. For example: health promotion campaigns at a national level; policies in maternity hospitals at NHS board level and primary care teams working with individual women and groups within the community.  While these can support and encourage mothers to initiate and continue breastfeeding, there are a wide range of other factors that influence mothers. Maternal age and deprivation are known to be strongly associated with the likelihood of breastfeeding.

The latest  Breastfeeding Statistics were released on 25 May 2010.  A Statistical Publication Notice explains the key points from this release. This is an interim release which presents breastfeeding rates for the financial year 2008/09 and provisional rates for calendar year 2009 by NHS Board, Community Health Partnership and Council Area.

The main publication of breastfeeding statistics will be released in October 2010.  This will include data for the financial year 2009/10 by NHS Board, Community Health Partnership and Council Area and also analyses by deprivation, maternal age and smoking status. Updated breastfeeding rates for the calendar year 2009 by NHS Board, Community Health Partnership and Council Area will also be presented. Thereafter, breastfeeding statistics for the financial year will be published annually in October. These changes to the timing of the annual publication were made following a consultation with users.

Consultation on the publication of breastfeeding statistics

In March 2010, ISD conducted a consultation on the timing and frequency of the publication of breastfeeding statistics to ensure they were fit-for-purpose.   The consultation summarised ISD's proposals and key users of the statistics were invited to comment.   Details of the consultation were also available on these web pages and comments invited.  Following the consultation feedback, the timing of the annual publication of breastfeeding statistics has moved from May to October. This change ensures information for the financial year is published in a timely way. As a one-off, in the transition year an interim mini-release in May 2010 was seen as desirable to avoid a gap of more than a year from the last publication in May 2009.