NHS: Breastfeeding is a UK Health Crisis

Breastfeeding rates for one-year-olds in the UK are the lowest in the world. And while the World Health Organisation advises that babies should be exclusively breastfed to six months, that happens with only 1% of babies in the UK.

The last Infant Feeding Survey, published by the NHS, found that 81% of mothers began breastfeeding but half of them had completely stopped within eight weeks. In the last two years there have been deep cuts to breastfeeding support services across the UK, especially in England, as local authorities have tried to save NHS resources. Research suggests, however, that those cuts will simply put more pressure on NHS funding as they have a negative impact on the health of both mother and baby.

Rates of starting breastfeeding have been rising since the 1990s thanks to better communication about the issue and the work of NHS staff through programs such as the UNICEF Baby Friendly Initiative. But there is still a long way to go to overcome what should be recognised as a breastfeeding crisis in the UK.

Blackpool Council closed down its well-regarded breastfeeding peer support service last June and Kent County Council recently announced it would be closing its own breastfeeding service. The decisions were part of a steady shriveling of support services for mothers who choose to breastfeed, inevitably increasing the number of mothers opting for infant formula.

Fernanda Mahler, a 41-year-old personal trainer in London who breastfed her child for two years, told Felix Magazine that it was very difficult at first. “I didn’t have much support as the nurses were pushing me to use the formula.” Mahler says that after giving birth she was not told about the existence of breastfeeding support services and it was only the support of a friend that helped her to persist.

Hurting the NHS

In 2012 the Preventing Disease and Saving Resource report analysed the way breastfeeding  can save money from the NHS by improving health outcomes.

The report was part of UNICEF UK’s ongoing “Baby Friendly” program, which has been running for 16 years in a bid to improve infant feeding in the NHS and decrease health inequalities.

The report showed that moderate increases in breastfeeding would save the NHS up to £50m a year, avoiding tens of thousands of GP consultations and many hospital admissions of babies. If half of the mothers who do not breastfeed did so for up to 18 months there would be an estimated 865 fewer cases of breast cancer, meaning cost savings for the NHS of more than £21m.

If 45% of babies were exclusively breastfed for four months, and if 75% of babies in neonatal units were breastfed at discharge, each year there would be:

• 3,285 fewer babies hospitalised with gastroenteritis and 10,637 fewer GP consultations, saving more than £3.6m.
• 5,916 fewer babies hospitalised with respiratory illness, and 22,248 fewer GP consultations, saving around £6.7m.
• 21,045 fewer ear infection GP visits, saving £750,000.
• 361 fewer cases of the potentially fatal disease NEC, saving more than £6m.

A Big Public Health Issue

Harrow Community Services is an example of how investing in support services for mothers can result in higher breastfeeding rates and fewer infant illnesses. The report says that the Harrow services began working towards the UNICEF UK Baby Friendly Standards in 2005.

At that point the breastfeeding initiation rate in the area was 67% and only 33% of mothers were still fully breastfeeding at 6-8 weeks. By 2012 90% of mothers were beginning breastfeeding and 50% exclusively breastfeeding at 6-8 weeks.

David Bull, UNICEF UK’s executive director, endorsed the report and called for the Government to recognise breastfeeding as a “major public health issue” by providing appropriate investment and legislation to help mothers have a better breastfeeding experience.

That can be done in many ways, he said, such as by maintaining existing breastfeeding services, investing more on counsellors, peer support groups and lactation consultants, running public education campaigns to promote breastfeeding and regulating the advertising of infant formula.

Social attitudes towards breastfeeding also need to catch up with the times. Mothers are discouraged from breastfeeding every time they are made to feel uncomfortable about breastfeeding in public let alone banned from doing so. Alison Thewliss MP, the chair of the all-party parliamentary group on infant feeding, argues that public awareness efforts should start from the ground up, so “schools should teach children that breastfeeding is natural”.

 

by Ana Luiza Magalhães

The post NHS: Breastfeeding is a UK Health Crisis appeared first on Felix Magazine.