Tony, please support our breasts!

12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Tue 18th Jul 2006

Annette Brooke joins other campaigners to support breastfeeding mothers in England

Annette Brooke has called on the Prime Minister to support breastfeeding mothers in England today.

The local MP joined with other campaigners to present a petition with over 5,000 signatures to 10 Downing Street. Mums also demonstrated outside the Department of Health brandishing placards bearing the slogan 'Tony, please support our breasts'.

The petitioners, lead by National Childbirth Trust (NCT) member and Founder of Best Beginnings, Alison Baum, are asking Tony Blair to ensure that England acts in accordance with the 2002 World Health Assembly Global Strategy for Infant and Young Child Feeding it originally supported, and puts in place:

i) A National Breastfeeding Strategy

ii) A National Infant Feeding Coordinator with appropriate budget, power and team to initiate and sustain change

(N.Ireland, Wales and Scotland already have National Coordinators and National Breastfeeding Strategies)

In the UK, 9 out of 10 women who stop breastfeeding by 6 weeks would have liked to have breastfed for longer. Many of these women are left feeling angry, guilty and deeply saddened. They stop mostly due to pain or concerns of insufficient milk, both of which are largely avoidable with the right information and support.

Evidence indicates that a comprehensive National Breastfeeding Strategy and a Coordinator would support significant increases in breastfeeding rates and satisfaction among mothers. In Scotland, the last breastfeeding coordinator encouraged Health Boards in the development of their own strategies and hospitals to send their staff on the UNICEF UK Baby Friendly training. There is already an increase in breastfeeding rates in the hospitals that have achieved UNICEF Baby Friendly Status.

Annette Brooke, Lib Dem Spokesperson for Children, Young People and Families, said:

"New mothers in England deserve a national breastfeeding strategy. It is truly outrageous that pornographic magazines are so freely available and yet mothers are prevented from feeding their babies in public - a perfectly natural and healthy activity."

Actress and mother Emma Thompson has pledged her support for the campaign. She said:

"I believe the improvements necessary for mothers and babies regarding breastfeeding are enormous and not difficult to implement. So many women are given conflicting information. It's time to get the message across - not only is breastfeeding the perfect beginning for mother and child but it should be allowed whenever and wherever a mother happens to be."

Today is also the official launch of Best Beginnings, a not-for-profit organisation working to ensure that babies from all socio-economic and ethnic backgrounds are given the best possible start in life. A key objective of Best Beginnings is to work to increase breastfeeding rates in the UK. Alison said,

"The Best Beginnings website, www.bestbeginnings.info is dedicated to a number of groups, most importantly to the many mothers who wanted to breastfeed but were not enabled to do so."

Ends

For more information about the Breastfeeding Petition, Breastfeeding Manifesto or Best Beginnings, please contact Alison at: alison@bestbeginning.info or 07866 607 975 or the NCT press office on 0870 770 3238, press@nct.org.uk (out of hours 07722 839428)

Notes to Editors

· Breastfed babies are five times less likely to end up in hospital than formula-fed babies with gastroenteritis. Breastfeed babies are half as likely to end up in hospital with respiratory disease in their first seven years of life. Breastmilk also protects against diabetes and obesity. If all babies were breastfed for at least three months, over £35million would be saved each year in England and Wales in treating gastroenteritis alone.

· In 2002 the Government signed-up to the Global Strategy for Infant and Young Child Feeding which was developed by the World Health Organization and UNICEF. Key targets from the Innocenti Declaration, were highlighted including a call for the development of a National Breastfeeding Strategy and the appointment of a Co-ordinator

· Having worked at the BBC for ten years, in January 2005, Alison Baum took voluntary redundancy to launch Express Yourself Mums (EYM). It was while at EYM that Alison initiated the Breastfeeding Petition. Alison left Express Yourself Mums to set up Best Beginnings.

· Best Beginnings will work to increasing breastfeeding rates in the UK by:

o        raising awareness about the joys and benefits of breastfeeding

o        giving practical support to families through articles and videos

o        directing families to the four breastfeeding charities that work in the community supporting breastfeeding

o        working closely with healthcare professionals who are involved in supporting new mothers

o        acting as a catalyst for change - working with parliamentarians, key breastfeeding related charities and professional bodies to effectively lobby Government.

· Working with David Kidney MP, Alison Baum has instigated and is now taking forward the idea of a Breastfeeding Manifesto for change. They are now working with Annette Brooke MP and Julie Kirkbride MP, UNICEF, the key breastfeeding support organizations, Royal Colleges and other professional bodies. The coalition is working to engage significant numbers of cross-party parliamentarians in the Manifesto with the aim of then taking the Breastfeeding Manifesto to Government sometime next year.

· Currently, Alison is also working with Coventry University on two quick and easy breastfeeding surveys which can be accessed on-line from: www.bestbeginnings.info. The researchers are keen for as many people as possible, aged 8 to 108 male and female, with lots or no experience of infant feeding to complete the surveys. The results should help identify creative ways of overcoming barriers and empowering women to feed their babies as they choose, it should also give more leverage for future lobbying.

1 Breastfeeding Good Practice Guidance to the NHS. Department of Health 1995

2 http://innocenti15.net/declaration.htm