23 Mar 2017
Public Health England campaign launches in South East to improve breastfeeding rates
- Start4Life has launched a BreastFeeding Friend (BFF) ChatBot to provide day and night support to mums in South East
- In England, almost three quarters of mothers start breastfeeding (73%), but this drops to 44% at 6-8 weeks
- Case study available in Portsmouth
Today (23 March) Start4Life, Public Health England’s programme that helps parents adopt healthy behaviours, launched a new interactive BreastFeeding Friend (BFF) ChatBot in the South East.
The BFF is accessed through Facebook Messenger and provides personal support for mothers at any time of the day or night to help make breastfeeding a better experience. The BFF will also dispel any breastfeeding myths and help alleviate concerns mums from the South East have. The bot works as a live chat tool which is able to respond to questions about breastfeeding posed by the user.
Almost three-quarters of women start breastfeeding when their child is born, but this drops to 44% after two months.[1] However, evidence shows the right support helps mums to breastfeed for longer.[2] PHE recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months.[3]
A new survey of 500 mothers of young children commissioned by PHE showed that more than half were concerned that breastfeeding could mean they wouldn't be able to tell if their baby was getting too much or not enough milk. A similar proportion of mums surveyed thought that people might assume they need a special diet to breastfeed. Nearly 3 in 10 worried that breastfeeding could mean their baby might not be getting the right nutrients, indicating why mothers may stop breastfeeding at this early point.
Breastfeeding boosts a baby’s ability to fight illness and infection. Babies who are not breastfed are more likely to get diarrhoea and respiratory infections. It also lowers a mother’s risk of ovarian and breast cancer, and also burns around 500 calories a day.
Viv Bennett, Chief Nurse at Public Health England, said:
“Breastfeeding, while natural, is something that all mums and their babies learn by doing. Mums tell us that after the first few weeks breast feeding becomes easier, so proper support is crucial at this time, which is where our BFF is designed to help.
“We can all help women feel comfortable breastfeeding their baby wherever they are. Creating a wider culture of encouragement and support will help make a mother’s experience all the more positive.”
Kate King-Hicks, Children and Young People’s Health Programme Lead in PHE South East, said:
“The ‘Start4Life Breastfeeding Friend’ is a great tool for mums in the South East who are looking for help and advice about breastfeeding. Support can make a real difference to successful breastfeeding, so building a network of people who can share tips and advice or attending local breastfeeding groups or talking to your health visitor can also be beneficial for those who might require a bit more help.”
CASE STUDY – To arrange an interview with a mum from Portsmouth about her experiences of breastfeeding, please contact, Annie Murray, Freuds, Tel: 020 3003 6687 (Available on 22/23 March).
For more information, advice and tips on breastfeeding visit: www.nhs.uk/start4life/
To access the ChatBot, simply open Facebook Messenger and search Start4Life BreastFeeding Friend or visit m.me/Start4LifeBreastFeedingFriend to get started.
South East regional table – this table shows the number of infants that are not breastfed after 6-8 weeks by local authority area in 2015/16. Please note that this is not a definitive list for all local authorities in the South East region, data is only provided for the four local authority areas because there are varying levels of recording across the region.
|
South East |
|
|
Area of residence |
Infants not at all breastfed after 6-8 weeks |
|
Bracknell Forest |
43.7% |
|
Brighton and Hove |
23.1% |
|
West Berkshire |
44.0% |
|
Windsor and Maidenhead |
35.9% |
-ends -
Contact Information
Stephen Weatherill
Communications Officer
PHE South West
0117 9689166
07775027768
Stephen.Weatherill@phe.gov.uk
Notes to editors
- The Start4Life Breastfeeding Friend, BFF for short, is a ChatBot accessible via Facebook Messenger, using Android or iphones, tablets or computers. It provides answers to users’ breastfeeding questions, any time of the day or night, from getting started to continuing breastfeeding after weaning.
- To start a chat with the Start4Life BreastFeeding Friend:
Visit m.me/Start4LifeBreastFeedingFriend or click on one of our Facebook ads and if you have Facebook Messenger installed, you’ll be taken straight to the app to start your chat
Open the Facebook Messenger app and search for Start4Life Breastfeeding Friend in the search bar at the top of the app
Visit facebook.com/Start4LifeBreastFeedingFriend and click Send Message underneath our cover photo - In addition to the Breastfeeding BFF ChatBot there are many other ways that mothers can get breastfeeding support. The Start4Life website has a range of advice and resources which can help mothers continue breastfeeding, as well as a dedicated helpline they can call. Mothers can also get help through:
Friends and family
Their Midwifery team
Their health visitor
Local breastfeeding drop-in services
Facts on breastfeeding: - Public Health England recommends that babies are exclusively breastfed for the first six months to give them the best start in life.Breast milk boosts babies’ ability to fight illness and infection in their first six months.Breastfeeding lowers the risk of breast cancer and ovarian cancer for the mother, and also burns about 500 calories a day.
Breastfeeding has a positive impact on the whole population. Moderate increases in breastfeeding would translate into cost savings for the NHS. - TNS data was collected from 500 breastfeeding mothers on behalf of Public Health England in October 2016.
- Statements about breastfeeding that women most agreed with in the Start4Life survey:
It could be painful (74%)
It could prevent me from taking medication (71%)
I wouldn’t be able to tell if my baby was getting enough/too much milk (54%)
It could tie me down and stop me doing what I want to (51%)
I may have to eat a special diet (49%)
I couldn’t take the birth control pill (37%)
Women with breast implants are not able to breastfeed (29%)
My baby may not be getting the necessary nutrients (27%)
Some women’s breasts can be too small to be able to breastfeed (24%)
It could stop me exercising (24%) - Sometimes breastfeeding isn’t possible for a range of reasons. If this is the case, in terms of liquids babies should only be given infant formula milk for the first 12 months and no other types of milk.
- Start4Life’s Baby Club and Start4Life website offers NHS information and advice for parents-to-be and parents of 0-5 year olds providing them with the advice they need to help get their child off to the best start in life.
- The Department of Health is also supporting Unicef UK to develop a neonatal infant feeding network to support sick and preterm babies.
- Public Health England exists to protect and improve the nation's health and wellbeing, and reduce health inequalities. It does this through world-class science, knowledge and intelligence, advocacy, partnerships and the delivery of specialist public health services.
[1] Public Health England data on breastfeeding at 6-8 weeks Q3 2015/2016
[2] The Lancet, Why invest, and what it will take to improve breastfeeding practices? 29 January 2016
[3] Public Health England’s recommendation supports the World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines which state that on a population basis, exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months is the optimal way of feeding infants.
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