It’s an unusually hectic time in Westminster for infant feeding. Last week in the Lords, Baroness Hughes questioned the Government about plans to improve nutritional and marketing standards for baby foods so that parents are empowered to respond to ‘mounting evidence of and concern about the poor nutritional and high sugar content in commercial baby foods.’
Also last week, Jess Brown-Fuller, MP, Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Infant Feeding, hosted the Parliamentary launch of the UK’s World Breastfeeding Trends Initiative (WBTI) Report, which presented a rather woeful picture of the UK and England in particular. Yesterday evening, she led an Adjournment Debate on Infant Feeding in the Commons, challenging the Government to implement the recommendations of the Competition and Markets Authority report on the infant formula market – in full – and invest in high-quality infant feeding support through the forthcoming Ten-Year Plan for the NHS.
BfN welcomes Minister Ashley Dalton’s double reference to the fabulous National Breastfeeding Helpline (NBH) service in her response. Following further Start for Life funding, we have now successfully transitioned NBH to a round-the-clock service, supporting families by phone and via social media 24 hours every day. Independently evaluated again this year, the National Breastfeeding Helpline, a service we run in partnership with the Association of Breastfeeding Mothers (ABM), continues to be a timely and trusted lifeline to mums and parents – and key to relieving pressure on families and the NHS alike.
We eagerly await the announcement of the NHS Ten-Year Plan on Thursday morning, which the Minister referenced in Parliament.
As MPs noted in yesterday’s debate, the first months and years of life are vital to long-term health and wellbeing. Supporting women and families who want to breastfeed, to do so, must be a central plank of any serious, evidence-based commitment to both the early years and preventative health.
BfN’s teams of mums and parents, with their lived experience of infant feeding, supervision, and accredited training, empower women and families through Family Hubs across the country. Like Jess Brown-Fuller, our hope of the Government is that a serious commitment to early years and preventative health is reflected in a clear and long-term investment in the extension of these tried and tested services, the continuation of the National Breastfeeding Helpline, and increased investment in the availability of healthcare professionals with deep and evidence-based infant feeding knowledge.
Together with full implementation of the Competition and Markets Authority recommendations, these commitments are vital to mums and families accessing the infant feeding support they want and need, regardless of postcode. With concerted action by the Government, the UK will no longer be ranked amongst the worst places in the world to be a mum wanting to breastfeed.
To access information and support about infant feeding you can trust:
Contact the National Breastfeeding Helpline on 0300 100 0212, 24/7. Support is also available via social media and webchat.
Access information about our face-to-face support here.