national breastfeeding awareness week.

National Breastfeeding Awareness Week 10 -16 May 2009

Breastfeeding: every day makes a difference to your baby

The theme of National Breastfeeding Awareness Week this year is support, and the strapline , ‘Breastfeeding: every day makes a difference to your baby’, reflects the message that each day a woman continues to breastfeed is another day her child receives important health benefits from its mother. If women receive support - whether it be from a friend or family member, a health professional, or volunteer breastfeeding supporter, they are likely to breastfeed for longer.

Research indicates breastmilk gives babies all the nutrients they need for the first six months of life and helps protect them from infection and diseases such as gastro-intestinal infections, ear infections, urine infections, eczema and obesity in later childhood. Mothers also benefit from breastfeeding. It can reduce the risk of against ovarian cancer, breast cancer and weak bones later in life.

During National Breastfeeding Awareness Week the new UK-World Health Organisation growth charts are being introduced to England for the first time, providing accurate guidance on child growth. The charts, which have been developed for the Department of Health by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health will offer important reassurance for parents of breastfed babies, and will replace current charts that were based on predominately formula fed babies. The new charts will help parents and healthcare professionals identify children at risk of obesity at an early age. The charts are based on measurements of over 7000 children worldwide – selected because they were growing up in healthy circumstances: breast fed children of non smoking mothers, not living in poverty. Research has shown that breastfed babies exhibit a more desirable pattern of growth and are associated with healthier outcomes, including being less likely to become obese in later life.

Features of the new growth charts include a height predictor and a chart specifically for premature infants. For the first time, they will also include parent friendly instructions. In addition to the new growth charts, the Department of Health is extending Breast Buddy, an initiative introduced last year which encourages women to breastfeed for longer by encouraging them to nominate a buddy from within their circle of friends and family to provide practical and emotional support. This is part of the Department of Health’s campaign to address the inequalities that exist in infant feeding practices.

La Leche League GB supports National Breastfeeding Awareness Week. La Leche League is an international nonprofit, nonsectarian organisation which, for over 50 years, has been dedicated to providing education, information and mother-to-mother support and encouragement to women who want to breastfeed.

LLL Leaders are mothers who have themselves breastfed for 12 months or longer. They provide telephone counselling, email support and local group meetings. They have leaflets on a wide range of breastfeeding questions, information on more unusual situations, access to a Medical Advisory Panel and can often lend out books covering various aspects of pregnancy and child care.

LLL's national telephone helpline (0845 120 2 918 ) connects mothers directly to an accredited Leader, while the organisation' s website (http://www. laleche.org. uk/) includes an online help form to which an individual Leader responds to help each mother directly with her concerns. All our Leaders are volunteers and work from their own homes while looking after their own families.