A NEW strategy to improve the long-term health of mums and babies is being rolled out across Dumfries and Galloway.

Dec 25 2009 by Julie Watt, Dumfries Standard Friday

A NEW strategy to improve the long-term health of mums and babies is being rolled out across Dumfries and Galloway.

Increasing breastfeeding rates can make an important contribution and it is one of the key priorities that has been set by NHS Dumfries and Galloway.

Health chiefs insist mothers and their children will reap “major” health benefits by taking up breast feeding.

Health Improvement Programme Lead for Early Years, Veronica King said: “Breastfeeding has many major health benefits for both mother and baby and can help to give a child the best possible start in life.”

She also states that good nutrition, particularly amongst 0 to two-year-olds, is an important foundation for future health and wellbeing.

“There is good evidence that breastfeeding in infancy has a protective effect against many childhood illnesses. Breastfed infants are likely to have a reduced risk of infection, particularly those affecting the ear, respiratory tract and gastro-intestinal tract,” she said.

“It is acknowledged that cultural changes and attitudes regarding breastfeeding may only shift gradually over the course of several generations.”

The new breastfeeding strategy for NHS Dumfries and Galloway provides short, medium and long-term priorities to increase the uptake and duration of breastfeeding across the region.

It sets out a framework for increasing initiation and duration rates of breastfeeding among all women. It also puts particular emphasis on population groups where breastfeeding rates are low.

As a core principle in-line with the World Health Organisation, NHS Dumfries and Galloway recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months, and then as part of an infant’s diet up to two years and beyond.

The Scottish Government has set a target of increasing the proportion of newborn children who are exclusively breastfed at six to eight weeks from 26.6 per cent in 2006-2007 to 32.7 per cent in 2010-2011. The specific target for the region is 29.2 per cent.