17.07.12
NHS cuts reduce time spent breastfeeding babies
Cuts to maternity services affect how quickly women stop breastfeeding their babies, new research suggests.
Mothers who live in areas where maternity services have undergone significant cuts were more likely to stop breastfeeding in the first eight weeks after birth when compared to women in regions without cuts.
Nationally, 72% of women take up breastfeeding, and a third of these stop between six and eight weeks after birth. The research, compiled by health data analysts SSentif, shows huge regional variation in the amount of time mothers spend breastfeeding.
In Sandwell PCT, only 56.4% of new mothers started breastfeeding between 2009 and 2011. Two-thirds of those who breastfed stopped by six to eight weeks. The PCT reduced spending on maternity services in this time period by 20%, SSentif said.
In contrast, in Westminster PCT – where spending on maternity services increased by 157.5% – nine in 10 new mothers started breastfeeding, with just 6.7% stopping in the first six to eight weeks.
Judy Aldred, managing director of SSentif, said: “The Department of Health places huge emphasis on the importance of breastfeeding and says there is a clear case for investing in services to support breastfeeding as part of a local child health strategy. However, this seems at odds with the reduction in spending and staffing we have found.”
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