The aim of the World Breastfeeding Trends Initiative (WBTi) is to provide governments with information on policies and programmes which support breastfeeding effectively. The WBTi report focuses on ten key indicators, each of them focusing on an evidence-based strategy outlined in the WHO Global Strategy for Infant and Young Child Feeding and the Innocenti Declaration. (https://ukbreastfeeding.org/wbti-indicators/). Strategies range from appropriate legislation which protects breastfeeding to building capacity so mothers have access to skilled breastfeeding support. The indicators also reflect the need to provide more mother support groups in the community, and the need for effective communication strategies which promote breastfeeding throughout society. Research published in 2013 suggests that appropriate implementation of these ten strategies is associated with increased breastfeeding rates (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23493537). Over 100 countries have already participated in this initiative so far, with more countries preparing reports (http://worldbreastfeedingtrends.org/).
The WBTi report for the UK has been launched today, 15 November 2016, at Parliament.
The project was led by LLL Leaders Helen Gray and Jill Dye, as well as LLLGB participating as a partner organisation in the Core Group.
LLL has been active in WBTi in many countries and in some has coordinated the whole project. La Leche League GB is one of the WBTi UK core members.
Our Chair Eden Anderson said “The World Breastfeeding Trends Initiative UK has produced a reporting milestone for infant feeding which assists the Call to Action to improve support for breastfeeding in Britain. LLLGB is proud to be a core supporter of this important endeavour.”
The UK has one of the lowest breastfeeding rates in the world. Many mothers report that they would have liked to breastfeed for longer (National Infant Feeding Survey 2010). The WBTi UK report sets out the actions required by policy makers to help empower mothers to breastfeed for as long as they wish.
Read the press release here https://ukbreastfeeding.org/press-release-wbti-uk-2016/
Researcher Dr Amy Brown and LLLGB Media Liaison Nik Harris at the launch