Helping new mothers to give their babies the best start in life
There is growing awareness of the key role of the early years experience in giving children the best possible start for life and this ‘best start’ is equally important from a nutritional point of view.
World Health Organisation advice is babies should be breastfed exclusively until six months. But by six to eight weeks only just over one in four babies in Scotland is breastfed. So how can we help more women in Scotland choose breastfeeding?
The Scottish Government is launching a new television and poster advertising campaign today to encourage more women to breastfeed. The campaign coincides with the publication of Scotland’s new Maternal and Infant Nutrition Strategy, which not only promotes breastfeeding but aims to improve all aspects of nutrition for pregnant women, babies and toddlers.
We know support is a big factor: everything from needing help to get a newborn in the right position to feeling nervous breastfeeding in public. The good news is there is now lots of practical help and advice for mums and dads. Scotland is also a world-leader in having laws to protect a baby’s right to be breastfed in public.
Of course, improving the health of mothers and babies isn’t just about breastfeeding. A woman’s health and diet before she even conceives has a significant impact on her child’s health and wellbeing. What a pregnant woman eats and drinks affects her baby, and the diet of a young child builds habits – healthy or otherwise – for a whole lifetime.
That’s why, working with health boards, we’re taking steps to help:
- Wider staff training about maternal and infant nutrition
- Working with food retailers to provide and promote affordable healthy food choices
- Accredited breastfeeding peer support programmes to be provided in all NHS Board areas
- Encourage local development of Breastfeeding Welcome schemes to include private and public sector organisations
But we all have a part to play. We all need to change our attitudes. It’s crucial breastfeeding is seen as the normal way to feed babies and Scotland needs to celebrate women who choose to breastfeed.
So if you’re pregnant, or if you have a new baby, take a look at the new www.feedgoodfactor.org.uk website and see what help you can get to make the healthiest choice for you and your baby.
A copy of Improving Maternal and Infant Nutrition: A Framework for Action is available here.
Shona Robison Minister for Public Health and Sport