Breastfeeding increasing in Scotland

The increase in breastfed babies follows a recent investment of an additional £2 million for breastfeeding support by the Scottish Government. In an Early Day Motion SNP Alison Thewliss MP proposed that the House welcomes the increase in the number of babies being breastfed at six to eight weeks: “this represents positive progress, but acknowledges there is still much work to be done; and thanks Linda Wolfson, Scottish Government National Maternal and Infant Nutrition Coordinator and every member of staff, volunteer and peer supporter in Scotland’s communities for its effort in achieving progress in Scotland’s breastfeeding rates.”

Helen Crawley from First Steps Nutrition, who are a member of the Sustain alliance, welcomes this good news:

“We are pleased with these latest findings of breastfeeding rates increasing in Scotland. It is worth noting that all of Scotland's maternity and community services are Unicef UK Baby Friendly accredited and this is changing the culture around infant feeding. Only two thirds of maternity facilities in England are currently Baby Friendly (BFI) accredited."