| Appeal for Northern Ireland mums to take up breastfeeding
challenge
The Health
Promotion Agency (HPA) is urging mums to take up the challenge
to
dramatically increase Northern Ireland’s
breastfeeding rates which at the moment are the lowest in
the UK and one of the lowest in Europe.
The challenge was highlighted today during the third annual
Regional Breastfeeding Conference at the Dunadry Hotel, Templepatrick
Supporting and sustaining breastfeeding staged
by the HPA in association with the regional Breastfeeding
Strategy Implementation
Group. The conference drew attention to Northern Ireland’s
low uptake of breastfeeding despite the many health benefits
for both mum and baby.
Speaking
at the event Janet Calvert, Regional Breastfeeding Coordinator
with the HPA, said: “This is a serious
public health issue for Northern Ireland. Research shows
that breastfeeding has significant health rewards for both
mum and baby yet our rates of feeding are incredibly low.
This conference shows that other countries have been successful
with raising their rates of breastfeeding and we can do the
same here. However, as our public information campaign is
highlighting at the moment, attitudes to breastfeeding in
Northern Ireland really have to change. Research carried
out by the HPA shows that over half of people here feel breastfeeding
should not be seen in public – these attitudes and
perceptions are not helping to increase our already low breastfeeding
rates.”
In Northern Ireland over half of new mothers start to breastfeed
but this falls off rapidly and by six weeks it is down to
25% and by six months to 10%. In comparison, in Norway 99%
of new mums start feeding their baby and after six months
80% are still going strong.
Keynote
speaker at the conference, Gabrielle Palmer, Nutritionist,
Public
Health Nutrition Unit, London, said: “Culture
can change quite quickly. Just a few decades ago Norwegian
women were bottlefeeding. Parents here are no different from
Norwegian parents; they love their babies and want to do
their best for them. We just need to reach that critical
turning point when knowledge and support for breastfeeding
reaches every family and the misinformation is quashed. When
it happens here, and I believe it will, the rewards in improved
health will be fantastic.”
The HPA is also using the conference to launch the first
breastfeeding website in Northern Ireland: www.breastfedbabies.org which has been designed and written exclusively for parents
here. The site will be a great support to mums and partners
as it provides a wealth of information on breastfeeding as
well as specially commissioned photographs which are literally
a self-help guide showing mum how to breastfeed.
During the conference a new resource Off to a good start was also launched by the HPA. This is a booklet which has
been adapted for Northern Ireland and will be distributed
to all maternity units for pregnant women and new mums. Research
undertaken during testing of the booklet on the target audience
showed that some women who were determined not to breastfeed
had a complete turn around and when confronted with the benefits
of breastfeeding, they were convinced by them and said they
would like to breastfeed in the future.
The HPA’s
public information campaign on breastfeeding continues
until 31 May 2004.
END
Notes
to the editor
If
you would like to attend the conference for interviews/pictures
there will be a media facility from 10.50 – 11.20am
when Janet Calvert and Gabrielle Palmer will be available.
There will also be a number of mums and babies available
for photographs.
For further information contact:
Jenny Dougan on 028 9031 1611 / 9031 1514 or 07802 299946.
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