National Breastfeeding Week - How can we support you?

From Wednesday the 20th of June to Tuesday 26th June is National Breastfeeding Week. A week that is used to educate and inform, celebrate and encourage breastfeeding.

Once looked down upon as “Old Fashioned” rates of British women breastfeeding has been steadily on the rise year on year however we still have a long way to go. In 2016 the Lancet published data showing that only 0.5% of mothers were breastfeeding their babies at age 12 months compared to 23% in Germany, 56% in Brazil and a massive 99% in Senegal.

According to the report 81% of UK mothers have tried breastfeeding at one time or another but less than half of those mothers were still breastfeeding at 6 months. While in the US 49% were still breastfeeding after 6 months and 27% after a year. A survey of 300 women who had stopped breastfeeding in the first 6 months referenced public attitudes, lack of support and embarrassment as why they stopped Breastfeeding.

Thanks to changes in policy like the Equality Act 2010 which specifically forbids discrimination against mothers feeding their babies in public and products like the Baby Travel Feeding Cushion making breastfeeding on the go more comfortable and more convenient.