The UK Infant Feeding Survey 2000 revealed that just under seven in ten (69 per cent) of babies were breastfed initially in 2000, compared with 66 per cent five years earlier. Belinda Phipps, NCT chief executive, said, 'This data is extremely disappointing. While slightly more women in the UK are starting to breastfeed than in 1995, there has in fact been no real increase in the number of women continuing to breastfeed their babies after birth.'
The World Health Organisation recommends that babies receive only breast milk for their first six months of life. But, Ms Phipps said, 'This data shows that only one in five UK babies is receiving any breast milk at this time.'
The survey, published by the Department of Health to coincide with Breastfeeding Awareness Week, showed that by the time babies were two weeks old the numbers being breastfed had fallen to just over half (52 per cent). At six weeks it was down to 42 per cent and then 21 per cent at six months.
Ms Phipps said, 'It is clear that UK women are still not getting the information and support they need from healthcare professionals to breastfeed their babies.'
But the survey did reveal a rising trend in breastfeeding in Scotland, from 55 per cent in 1995 to 63 per cent in 2000, and in Northern Ireland from 45 per cent to 54 per cent. In Scotland, women breastfed their babies longer than in the rest of the UK, with 40 per cent still doing so when their babies are six months old.
The United Nations Children's Fund called for England to follow Scotland's example. Andrew Radford, programme director of UNICEF's UK Baby Friendly Initiative, said, 'The Scottish Executive has led the way in addressing the problem of low breastfeeding rates. It set targets for improvements and encouraged hospitals to adopt best-practice standards long before the rest of the UK, and this pro-active approach is now bearing fruit.'