Low UK breastfeeding rates down to social pressures over routine and sleep. Social pressure on new mothers to get their babies into a feeding routine and to sleep through the night is a key factor in why the UK has the lowest rate of breastfeeding in the world, an expert has warned.
Reduced breastfeeding support, cuts in public health funding, negative attitude towards breastfeeding in public and a lack of knowledge of the health benefits of breast milk all contribute to Britain having some of the worst breastfeeding rates in the world.
The UK, by contrast, has some of the lowest rates of breastfeeding in the world. The World Health Organisation recommends mothers worldwide to exclusively breastfeed infants for the child's first six months to achieve optimal growth, development and health. In the UK, that happens for less than 1% of babies.
Breastfeeding rates in the UK
In the UK we have some of the lowest breastfeeding rates in the world, with eight out of ten women stopping breastfeeding before they want to.
Poor attachment, "not enough breastmilk for the child", and an unsettled baby were the top reasons for ceasing to breastfeed cited in the Australian national infant feeding survey (by parents who stopped breastfeeding entirely before 6 months).
Fertility rates in Australia and around the world
Dr Allen says the decline in the average number of children per woman is a result of increased education and paid employment for women. Women are starting families later and consequently having fewer children, and more people are choosing to be child-free.
18th century
Governments in Europe started to worry about the decline of the workforce because of the high mortality rates among newborns. Wet nursing was considered one of the main problems. Campaigns were launched against the custom among the higher class to use a wet nurse.
In Mongolia, breastfeeding is celebrated and public breastfeeding encouraged with 65 percent of babies being exclusively breastfed for the first six months of life. Breastfeeding also tends to continue until after the second birthday.
Croatia has the highest rate of breastfeeding in the entire world. More than 98 percent of all babies are breastfed starting at birth. Some of the other countries that also have very high rates of breastfeeding include Rwanda, Chile, and Burundi. All of these countries have breastfeeding rates greater than 80 percent.
However, within low-and-middle-income countries, wealth disparities affect how long a mother will continue to breastfeed her child, the data show. Babies from the poorest families have rates for breastfeeding at 2 years that are 1.5 times higher than those from the richest families.
The high proportion (95%) of women that initiated breastfeeding and were exclusively breastfeeding at two months (60%) is consistent with findings from the 2010 Australian National Infant Feeding Survey (96%, 60.3%, N = 28,759) [11].
The ESRI's seminal Growing Up in Ireland study draws links between increasing rates of birth by caesarean section, with lower levels of breastfeeding. It is thought that this could be due to the early hours of the baby's life coinciding with the recovery time post-surgery, during which mother and baby are apart.
In China the exclusive breastfeeding rate has fallen to 28 per cent nationally.
You don't have to breastfeed if you don't want to. There's no evidence to say that babies who are formula-fed are less loved and cared for than breastfed babies. You can bond with your baby in many ways, with skin-to-skin cuddles, massage, and just gazing into her eyes as you feed her.
Rates of breastfeeding in the UK are the lowest in the world, an international study shows. The data, published in the Lancet, shows that only one in 200 women - or 0.5% - is still doing any degree of breastfeeding after a year. That compares with 23% in Germany, 56% in Brazil and 99% in Senegal.
The UK has some of the lowest breastfeeding rates in the world. The evidence in this report demonstrates women who are least likely to breastfeed are those who are white, young, early school leavers and from lower socio economic groups.
The Law protects your right to breastfeed
As the former federal Sex Discrimination Commissioner, Pru Goward (2001-2006) stated: 'A mother's right to breastfeed is protected by the federal Sex Discrimination Act, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, marital status, pregnancy and potential pregnancy.
"[After] roughly about three or four months once the child's been born only about 30 per cent of the patients would usually be exclusively breastfeeding their kids. "And that rate drops even further to roughly about 10 to 15 per cent after about six months.
For example, in some areas in China, it is believed that infants should not be breastfed for some time after birth [9]. A recent survey reported that the first feed of more than 60% babies was infant formula [10]. About 70% of infants were first breastfed 24 h after birth [10, 11].
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), exclusive breastfeeding (children only receiving breast milk and no other food or drink) should last until the infant is 6 months old and partial breastfeeding should continue up to 2 years of age.
Breastmilk or infant formula should be your baby's main source of nutrition for around the first year of life. Health professionals recommend exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months, with a gradual introduction of appropriate foods in the second 6 months and ongoing breastfeeding for 2 years or beyond.
In Japan, 90% of moms breastfeed until their child is 2 years old. However, according to a UNICEF survey of countries (including less developed nations) on average moms stop breastfeeding when their child is 4.2 years old.
Like a growing number of American women, French moms work and reject the idea of staying at home. Breastfeeding support in France is inadequate. Mothers often turn to formula when they return to work after 16 weeks of paid maternity leave.
Throughout the ages and until the end of the 19th century, animal's milk was the most common source of artificial feeding. As mentioned earlier, pap and panada were used only as supplements to animal's milk when the infant failed to thrive.
The early weeks of breastfeeding are often the most difficult. Some women experience issues with milk supply, which can be too high or too low. Others have painful or cracked nipples. Some women develop mastitis, a potentially severe breast infection.