Breast Feeding
Protests calling for the government to change it's "breast is best" slogan are being voiced by the Breast Feeding Network after figures demonstrate a failure to convince new mums to agree to breast feeding.
The campaigners from the Network want breastfeeding to be accepted as the norm not potrayed as something special as the slogan indicates. In it's defence the Department of Health says it is only following official guidance.
Lesley Backhouse, chair of The Breastfeeding Network, wrote to the Department of Health asking that the message "breast is best" be changed. "We've got to knock breastfeeding off this pedestal," she said.
"It implies something special, whereas breast feeding is the physiological norm, and suggests that formula is the standard way to feed babies. She adds "Breastfeeding is the only case where the biological norm is expressed as the exception rather than the rule,"
Backhouse feels, the importance of any message is to communicate to new mums that breastfeeding is free and easy, and above all the normal way to feed a baby.
A spokesperson for The Department of Health said the Department is in agreement saying "Breastfeeding is good for babies, good for mothers and incredibly convenient. It's crucial that mothers get the support they need to make breastfeeding a success for them and their baby," said.
NHS leaflets given to pregnant women and new mothers point out the benefits, breastfeeding protects against obesity, allergies, asthma and diabetes. Breast-fed infants also have a lower risk of gastroenteritis and respiratory and ear infections, research also shows.
The advantages also extend to the mums who breastfeed. They are likely to lose pregnancy wieght gains faster and they also lower their risk of pre-menopausal breast cancer.
The findings are based on a survey of 3,000 mothers, also found eight in 10 women in England start off breastfeeding but only one in five is still breastfeeding when their baby is six months old, and four in 10 struggled to get to grips with breastfeeding their newborn.
Tagged in Parenting