Don’t be fooled by the uninspiring acronym – the WBTi is the most exciting thing to happen in breastfeeding in the UK for years!

The name stands for the World Breastfeeding Trends initiative and it was launched in 2005 by IBFAN, and the idea is to take a snapshot of breastfeeding in a country – the policies, practices and breastfeeding rates – and then (and this is the important bit) to create some recommended actions to improve things.

The assessment is then repeated 3 to 5 years later and a new set of recommendations are made. The idea is to create an upward trend of continuing improvements over time so that more babies are breastfed and for longer, improving infant and maternal health.

Governments don’t need to keep reinventing the wheel because we already know what works. Back in 2003 the WHO produced (and member countries signed up for) the excellent Global Strategy on Infant and Young Child Feeding, which outlines exactly what they need to do to improve breastfeeding rates. It says that:

· All governments should develop and implement a comprehensive policy on infant and young child feeding.
· All mothers should have access to skilled support to initiate and sustain exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months and ensure the timely introduction of adequate and safe complementary foods with continued breastfeeding up to two years or beyond.
· Health workers should be empowered to provide effective feeding counselling, and their services be extended in the community by trained lay or peer counsellors.
· Governments should review progress in national implementation of the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes, and consider new legislation or additional measures as needed to protect families from adverse commercial influences.
· Governments should enact imaginative legislation protecting the breastfeeding rights of working women and establishing means for its enforcement in accordance with international labour standards.

The WBTi breaks down the Global Strategy into 10 areas (indicators) and asks a short set of pertinent questions to see how the country is doing in each one. Where gaps are identified, recommendations are put forward to fill them.

Studies show that countries that have enacted the Global Strategy – in all 10 areas, not just a select few – have seen great improvements in their breastfeeding rates.

Over 100 countries are involved in the WBTi but this is the first time for the UK. The beauty of the process is that it is a collaborative effort between government officials and organisations involved in breastfeeding. If you are a mother, peer supporter, midwife, health visitor or lactation consultant – we’d also like to get your views. Over the coming days we’ll be posting a key question for each Indicator and will be asking what actions you think the WBTi should recommend in its report. So stay posted…