Scottish Government

Why is this HEAT target important?

The Scottish Government is committed to improving the health and wellbeing of the Scottish population and ensuring that each child gets the best possible start in life. We recognise that breastfeeding has many major health benefits, both in the short and longer term, for both mother and baby, and agree that it is a key health intervention in reducing health inequalities. That is why we are committed to the promotion of breastfeeding throughout the country. It is vital to increase the number of women who breastfeed and to encourage them to exclusively breastfeed for longer, since we know the best health benefits come when it is maintained for a baby's first six months and beyond.

How are we performing?

Target due for delivery in 2010/11

The target is to achieve 33 per cent of new-born children exclusively breastfed at six to eight weeks in 2010/11.

NHSScotland had committed to delivering a 25 per cent increase on baseline performance across all Boards by 2010/11 (increasing the proportion of new-born children exclusively breastfed at six to eight weeks to 33 per cent) and are developing innovative approaches to do so.

In 2010/11, 26.5 per cent of all babies receiving a six to eight week review were exclusively breastfed, compared to 26.1 per cent in 2009/10.

Breastfeeding rates vary by geographical area and are strongly linked to deprivation and maternal age. For example, in 2010/11 the rate in NHS Lanarkshire was 18.2 per cent whereas the rate in NHS Highland was 31.2 per cent. There are many factors that influence feeding choices and changing the culture around breastfeeding is a significant challenge.

The graph below shows national performance on the percentage of new-born children exclusively breastfed at 6-8 weeks since 2001/02.

Note: The number of NHS Boards included in these statistics has increased from 10 Boards in 2001/02 to 14 Boards in 2010/11. NHS Grampian and NHS Orkney implemented during 2010 and are included in the statistics for the first time (in the figures for 2010/11 only). This should be borne in mind when comparing the all participating NHS Boards figures for 2010/11 with previous years.

NHS Board level performance is shown in the table below.

Percentage of children exclusively breastfed at 6-8 weeks by NHS Board, 2010/11 and NHS Board target

Further Information

Breastfeeding statistics

Related National Outcomes

• We have tackled the significant inequalities in Scottish society
• Our children have the best start in life and are ready to succeed
• We have improved the life chances for children, young people and families at risk
• We live longer, healthier lives