Give Your Baby 'The Best Start'

Give your child the best possible start in life by breastfeeding- that's the message from the Public Health Agency (PHA) for National Breastfeeding Awareness Week.

Rates of breastfeeding are lower in Northern Ireland than in the UK as a whole, with just 45% of new mums doing it when they leave hospital, and the PHA are keen to promote its benefits.

A statement released by the agency stated that "any period of breastfeeding, however short, will benefit your baby".

It boosts babies' immune systems, making them less likely to get ear, chest, kidney and stomach infections, and it reduces the risk of childhood diabetes and obesity.

Perhaps less well known is the fact that there are health benefits for mothers too – mums who breastfeed are less at risk of breast cancer, ovarian cancer and osteoporosis.

Janet Calvert of the PHA also had some more immediate benefits to point out.

She said: "Breastfeeding is free – you don’t have to buy formula, bottles, teats or sterilising equipment, and breast milk is always available, with the right ingredients, at the right temperature, so it’s easier to feed at night or on the go."

But she said it can be difficult at first, so mums need reassurance – from family, friends or one of Northern Ireland’s 70 peer mother-to-mother peer support programmes – to keep them from being put off.

The PHA also provides breastfeeding resources such as the 'From Bump to Breastfeeding' DVD for all expectant women.

For further information on breastfeeding visit www.breastfedbabies.org.uk.

(NE)