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Guardian articles: "Now it's official: breast is best for six months" and "Employers told to make space for breastfeeding"; and letters in response Now it's official: breast is best for six months All new mothers are to be advised to breastfeed their baby exclusively for six months before introducing solid foods under guidance from the government, announced today. The recommendation is based on expert international opinion, but will need a big cultural and social shift if it is to be fully implemented in the UK. It merely endorses policy agreed by the World Health Assembly in May 2001, but the government has hesitated for a year before making the announcement, aware that it is taking on both cultural taboos and the commercial interests of the baby milk and baby food companies. Heinz, Cow and Gate and other manufacturers make about £167m a year in total from sales of baby food jars and packets in the UK. Powdered formula sales are worth about £150m. But experts now agree that infants need nothing more than the breast for the first six months of their life. The big question is whether the government will attempt to follow up its advice to women with curbs on the promotion of formula milk and baby food. Cultural shibboleths will also need to be overcome, such as the widespread disapproval experienced by women who feed their babies in public, the difficulties they encounter when they go back to work and long-standing beliefs - even among some health visitors - that babies, particularly large ones, need solid food as early as possible. The new recommendation from the Department of Health is uncompromising: "Breastfeeding is the best form of nutrition for infants. Exclusive breastfeeding is recommended for the first six months (26 weeks) of an infant's life as it provides all the nutrients a baby needs." Launching the guidance today, the health minister, Hazel Blears, said: "We want to give a clear and consistent message to mothers, health professionals and the general public. "Breastfeeding for the first six months provides the best start for babies. It establishes a foundation for improving short and long-term health and in so doing can help to reduce health inequalities. We want to support women in their decision to breastfeed and help them continue to do so. This recommendation is part of that commitment." Studies have shown that babies who are breastfed may be less likely to
become obese children. They have a lower risk of gastro-enteritis and respiratory and ear infections. Women who breastfeed may lose the weight
they gained in pregnancy faster; they also lower their risk of In this country, however, there is further to go than in most of Europe. In the UK in 2000, 69% of women started breastfeeding their babies from birth, but by one month, only 44% were continuing - less than half. Only 23% of women were breastfeeding their babies by six months. Scandinavian countries, in particular, do vastly better, with Norway top of the league. According to last year's figures, one month after birth, 97% of mothers were breastfeeding and at six months, the figure had dropped only to 80%. Finland and Sweden also have markedly better rates than the UK. Supporters of breastfeeding were delighted that the government had put aside
its fears of accusations of nanny-statism, but hoped it would not stop there. "We're glad that the Department of Health has come out with this
recommendation, but there is an awful lot of work that needs to be done," "We would like to see more support for breastfeeding. We are a deeply
unsympathetic society. Women do find it very difficult to be out and about
with a baby when they are feeding and remarks are being made. Very few do it
publicly. It is very different from some of the Scandinavian countries where "We need a change in the culture of the order of the change there was on drink-driving. We need all government departments to pull together." Schools and employers could all play a part, she added. Patti Rundall, of Babymilk Action, said she was delighted the government had "grasped the nettle" and confirmed the WHO recommendation, but she hoped they would now take action on promotion of baby milk and baby foods. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2003 _____________________________________________________________________________________ The Guardian, Letters, 12 May 2003 Dear Editor, Your concern that the government’s announcement that it will promote breastfeeding may not change much, is well founded given its special relationship with the formula milk industry (Now it’s official: breast is best for six months, 12 May):
Yours sincerely Solveig Francis International Women Count Network _______________________________________________________________________________________________ Employers told to make
space for breastfeeding Julie Mellor, the commission's chairwoman,
cited a recent ruling by an employment tribunal that the protection
enjoyed by mothers on maternity leave also covers breastfeeding when they
return to work. The tribunal ruled that the RAF had
directly discriminated against a former flight lieutenant, Helen Williams,
31, by telling her she had to take "unpaid occupational maternity
absence" if she wanted to go on breastfeeding her baby after she was
due to return to work. An appeal against the ruling is due to be
heard next month. But in the meantime, Carrie Palmer, 34, a teacher and
senior marker with the Assessment and Qualification Alliance, has won £10,000
in an out of court settlement after she was told she could not take her
breastfed baby to training days. In previous years, nursing mothers were
allowed to bring their babies. In the light of a government recommendation
this week that babies should be breastfed for six months, Ms Mellor said,
it was even more important for employers to understand their legal
responsibilities. "Many women face problems at work
because of a lack of flexibility from their employers," she added. Ms Williams, who left the air force after facing a choice between breastfeeding and her job, said yesterday: "I am delighted that the outcome of the employment tribunal should bring about changes that will give women greater freedom to choose to breastfeed without having to compromise their careers or their financial stability." _______________________________________________________________________________________________ The
Guardian, Letters, 18 May 2003 Dear
Editor, Flight
Lt. Helen Williams has had to appeal to an employment tribunal for the
right to combine breastfeeding with her job (Employers told to make space
for breastfeeding, 16 May), despite the ILO Maternity Protection
Convention 2000 which women’s organisations like our own fought over two
years to keep. This gives
breastfeeding mothers the unequivocal right to paid nursing breaks or a
shorter working day without loss of pay.
The UK wanted instead that individual women negotiate the breaks
with employers. Similarly,
the government delayed for two years adopting WHO policy to defend
breastfeeding. (Now its official: breast is best for six months, 12 May).
This
government’s ‘special relationship’ with the formula milk industry
may explain this:
Yours
sincerely, Solveig
Francis International
Women Count Network Email:
solveig@crossroadswomen.net
THE
MILK OF HUMAN KINDNESS DEFENDING
BREASTFEEDING MOTHERS AND CHILDREN FROM THE AIDS INDUSTRY – A
DISSENTING VOICE IN THE WABA FORUM, Arusha, Tanzania, 27 September 2002 |