To align with National Breastfeeding Week 2024 (1-7 October), the HSE has published the Breastfeeding Action Plan Progress Report 2016-2023. Data demonstrates an 18.6 per cent increase in the number of infants breastfed at three months since 2015 and that 64 per cent of new mothers now initiate breastfeeding after birth. Other key highlights from the report include:

• Almost a four-fold increase in the number of dedicated infant feeding specialists available to support mothers (increasing from 15 to 59 since 2017);
• A new national infant feeding education programme underway for HSE staff;
• Almost 22,000 queries were answered via the HSE online breastfeeding support service since 2016.

This year the theme for National Breastfeeding Week is ‘Supporting you from bump to baby and beyond’. Sheila Lucey, infant feeding specialist in West Cork, said “we are keen to encourage mums-to-be to consider preparing for feeding while pregnant” and encouraged women to contact breastfeeding specialists and attend local community groups.

“Our support groups are safe spaces for mothers at all stages, whether someone is pregnant and thinking about breastfeeding, new to breastfeeding and has questions, or having problems with breastfeeding. We are here to provide non-judgemental advice and support at each and every one of the 215 breastfeeding groups around the country. Support people are also welcome, whether that is dad, partner, granny, grandad, or a trusted friend. Take the opportunity to ask those questions or alleviate any concerns you may have.”

Skilled breastfeeding supports are available in all maternity units and hospitals, in local health services, and online at mychild.ie. Common questions include:

• Is baby getting enough?
• How to settle baby?
• How to treat sore nipples?
• How best to express and store milk?
• Can I take certain medication while breastfeeding?

Minister for Public Health, Wellbeing, and the National Drugs Strategy Colm Burke said: “It is very positive to see that, with investment in resources in breastfeeding supports, there is an increase in the numbers of new mothers choosing to breastfeed throughout the country. The health benefits for both mothers and their infants in the short-term are significant and continued breastfeeding can reduce the risk of long-term health outcomes such as obesity, diabetes, and some cancers.

“Helping more mothers to breastfeed is crucial to improve long-term population health and we must continue our efforts to support parents who want to breastfeed their children. We all have a role to play to promote breastfeeding; within our communities, in public services, in the workplace, along with the invaluable support of volunteer breastfeeding groups and dedicated staff in the health service.”

The full progress report is available at: www.hse.ie/eng/about/who/healthwellbeing/our-priority-programmes/child-health-and-wellbeing/breastfeeding-healthy-childhood-programme/research-and-reports-breastfeeding/.

Jan-Feb 2024 | Issue 2 | Vol 17

Ireland has achieved a mediocre score of 56/100 when it comes to support for, and protection of, breastfeeding. The country ranks 57 out of 99 participating countries globally, and 10 out of 19 European countries, according to an inaugural report launched by Technological University Dublin (TU Dublin) in partnership with UNICEF Ireland and others. The World Breastfeeding Trends Initiative (WBTi) is a standardised assessment that evaluates a country’s implementation of the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Global Strategy for Infant and Young Child Feeding, benchmarking progress against other countries.

Ireland has one of the lowest breastfeeding rates in the world, with just 63 per cent of babies receiving breast milk at birth and less than 5 per cent exclusively breastfeeding at six months, a stark deviation from the WHO target of 50 per cent at the six-month mark.

Representing Baby Feeding Law Group Ireland, GP Dr Sarah Brennan said: “56 out of 100 is an average score, but we must do better and deliver optimum health outcomes. Prioritising breastfeeding is critical for infant and maternal health. Our health system is struggling to deal with the burden of disease in society, breastfeeding lowers the risk of many illnesses and therefore, prioritising breastfeeding is a prudent investment in the overall health of the population.”

The TU Dublin report pinpoints gaps in Ireland’s support for, and protection of, breastfeeding, and identifies key areas for improvement to raise Ireland’s breastfeeding rates. These include standardising breastfeeding education for all healthcare professionals that encounter pregnant and breastfeeding women, providing greater availability of breastfeeding preparation classes and breastfeeding support groups, developing an infant and young child feeding in emergencies preparedness plan, and fully implementing the WHO Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes.

Helping to launch the report, Gráinne Moloney, Senior Advisor in Early Childhood Nutrition in UNICEF headquarters in New York, said: “This report is an important milestone and piece of the puzzle towards improving Ireland’s breastfeeding rates. It shows that while there are some good policies in place, there needs to be greater implementation and enforcement of breastfeeding supportive policies to translate into higher rates.”

Preparation of the first WBTi-Ireland report was undertaken by a group of academics, healthcare professionals, and representatives of breastfeeding support groups led by Dr Liz O’Sullivan, Lecturer in Nutrition at Technological University, Dublin with funding support from UNICEF Ireland.

She said: “The good news is that Ireland has some good policy in place, the bad news is that it doesn’t seem to be reflected in our national breastfeeding statistics and in maternal feedback. Healthcare staff on the ground need to be adequately resourced to be able to give good, timely breastfeeding support. Ireland’s National Breastfeeding Action Plan expires this year; if we focus on developing a new action plan, and implement the recommendations in this report, there is real potential to improve our score for when the report is repeated in five years.”