Breastfeeding

(asked on 23rd January 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what comparison they have made of the percentage of women breastfeeding their babies at six months (1) currently, (2) 10 years ago, and (3) 20 years ago.


This question was answered on 5th February 2020

Breastfeeding at six months has been measured through the Infant Feeding Survey United Kingdom, which last ran in 2010. The results were published in 2012 and reported the breastfeeding prevalence for the UK outlined in the following table.

Breastfeeding prevalence for babies aged six months in 2000, 2005 and 2010 in the UK:

2000

2005

2010

Exclusively breastfed

Less than 1%

Less than 1%

1%

At all breastfed

21%

25%

34%

Notes:

  1. Source: Infant Feeding Survey - UK, 2010. NHS Digital.
  2. Prevalence of breastfeeding is based on all mothers who completed Stage 3 of the survey.

The UK has one of the lowest breastfeeding rates in the world. Data published in the Lancet shows that 0.5% of babies in the UK are being breastfed up to one year compared with 23% in Germany, 56% in Brazil and 99% in Senegal. A copy of the Lancet article, Breastfeeding in the 21st Century: epidemiology, mechanisms, and lifelong effect, is attached.

Reticulating Splines