Breastfeeding is “no longer getting the attention it deserves” because of time and resources constraints, a report has claimed.
Of the 483 women who responded to a survey last year, 43% said they did not think they were given enough information about breastfeeding.
Although 80% of the women surveyed said they had wanted to breastfeed, only 57% reported that they had received enough information about breastfeeding. In addition, 55% of mothers said they had very little, none or had to seek support from elsewhere about breastfeeding.
In another survey of midwives, student midwives and maternity support workers, almost one fifth said breastfeeding was not usually initiated within the first hour of giving birth, a crucial period for the mother and baby to bond.
The statistics are part of the Royal College of Midwives’ third report for its Pressure Points campaign, which looks at if maternity teams have enough time and resources to provide adequate postnatal care and advice.
Cathy Warwick, chef executive of the Royal College of Midwives, said: “We feel that breastfeeding is no longer getting the attention it deserves as a vital public health issue.
“There is no longer a national breastfeeding co-ordinator to co-ordinate England’s strategy or a national strategy, while Scotland and Wales have strategies. The financial strains that have been put on the NHS means we are seeing overstretched and demoralised midwives and maternity support workers struggling to maintain breastfeeding levels.
“We are facing a backlash and demonisation of women breastfeeding in public, with several recent high profile media cases where mothers were told to stop breastfeeding.
“We are told constantly by mothers that they gave up breastfeeding before they wanted to because of a lack of support and information from health professionals, including midwives … It is clear from our research findings that many women will not be getting the help that they need to breastfeed because of time and resources constraints. ”
The RCM is calling on the providers of NHS maternity care to recruit enough midwives and maternity support workers, particularly in England, to ensure that all women who choose to breastfeed get the support to initiate and continue breastfeeding.
It has also called for support for all new mothers – regardless of their chosen infant-feeding method. Parents who chose to bottle-feed should also be shown how to sterilise bottle-feeding equipment and how to make up formula feeds before they leave hospital.
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