Tag: WBTi

Adjournment debate in UK Parliament on infant feeding

Adjournment debate in UK Parliament on infant feeding

On 1 July, Chichester MP Jess Brown-Fuller led her first adjournment debate in the House of Commons Chamber. 

She raised key concerns with the Government, calling for a national strategy for England. In her role as chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Infant Feeding she focuses on specific policy areas, beyond her constituency work. She aims to hold the government to account, by raising identified gaps in policy with the relevant government minister. Such debates apply pressure to increase accountability so may lead to a change in the law. 

Jess highlighted her own positive experience of a network of community support when her children were born a decade ago but which is now, at best, patchy or non-existent. She urged the government to implement all eleven Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) final report recommendations to protect families from the current unacceptable exploitation by the infant formula market.

Several MPs supported the debate by sharing both their own experiences and stories from constituents about the importance of skilled breastfeeding support.

WBTi in Parliament

For the first time, the WBTi report was mentioned by a minister on the floor of the House of Commons. Ashley Dalton, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Public Health and Prevention in the Department of Health and Social Care, replied on behalf of the government:

 “We recognise the concerns raised in the World Breastfeeding Trends Initiative’s United Kingdom report and are considering the recommendations” and “we know through the report that England scores poorly, and we want to change that.” See Column 260 in the Hansard report of the debate.

MPs who attended:

Maya Ellis, Labour MP Ribble Valley

Jim Shannon, DUP MP Strangford ( Northern Ireland ) 

Connor Rand, Labour MP Altrincham and Sale West

Samantha Niblett, Labour MP South Derbyshire

David Reed, Conservative MP Exmouth and Exeter East

David Chadwick, Liberal Democrat MP Brecon Radnor and Cwm Tawe (Wales)

Dr Danny Chamber, Liberal Democrat Winchester

Article in the Sussex Express

Media follow-up

An article in The Independent on 11th August by journalist Abbie Llewellyn followed up on the Adjournment Debate.

Other outlets which picked up on the WBTi Report launch and the debate:

ITV Regional News interviewed Jess Brown-Fuller regarding the outcome of the CMA report, (a market study on infant formula and follow-on formula) set to be released on 1st September 2025.

The i Paper ran an article by journalist Emma Morgan on infant formula marketing.

Parliament News magazine ran a piece by Jess Brown-Fuller MP: Building the ‘healthiest generation ever’ starts with making sure every child has a fair start in life.

The Nursing Times published an article about the WBTi Report launch and policy event, hosted by Jess Brown Fuller, highlighting quotes from iHV CEO Alison Morton, Vicky Sibson of First Steps Nutrition Trust, and Jess Brown-Fuller.

The British Medical Journal on 26 June included a further news article by Gareth Iacobucci, about the WBTi launch and our Call to Action for the government to implement the CMA recommendations in full: “Formula milk: Overpriced and misleading products are risking child health, say campaigners.” BMJ 2025; 389:r1333.

Other recent relevant contributions by Jess Brown-Fuller MP to Parliamentary debates 

Prior to the Adjournment debate on 1st July there was a Parental Leave Review debate led by Justin Madders MP, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business and Trade. Various members of the APPG on Infant Feeding attended the meeting. Jess Brown-Fuller asked about the impact of breastfeeding policies on mothers returning to work. Despite the WBTi findings that mothers are struggling with continuing to breastfeed upon return to work, Justin Madders explained that this fell slightly outside the scope of the review but he was happy to correspond on the matter.

On 7th July there was a debate on Giving Every Child the Best Start in Life Strategy, led by Bridget Phillipson MP, Secretary of State for Education. Jess Brown-Fuller asked for confirmation that Best Start centres will be firmly rooted in evidence-based feeding support. The Secretary of State gave an assurance. 

Photo credit: Office of Jess Brown-Fuller MP

Jess Brown-Fuller MP looking at the WBTi Report with Clare Meynell

Author: Clare Meynell RM (rtd), IBCLC

Clare had a long career as a midwife and infant feeding lead achieving the UNICEF UK Baby Friendly Initiative Gold award accreditation at her local hospital. Currently, with Helen Gray, she jointly coordinates the UK WBTI working group and co-presented the first report for the UK in Parliament in November 2016 and the second in 2024.

Clare still volunteers her knowledge and experience at a regular mother and baby support group. 

Her focus recently has been to create “Actions for Change” through the WBTi report recommendations so that the next generation of mothers are enabled to achieve their personal breastfeeding goals and that society better understands the health-giving properties of human milk as the physiologically normal first food for babies. 

Presentation at the APPG on Infant Feeding

Presentation at the APPG on Infant Feeding

WBTi UK Steering Group members, Helen, Clare, Alison and Patricia, were very pleased to be invited to give a presentation on the 2024 Report to the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Infant Feeding on 18 June, 2025. This APPG, an informal cross-party group, is hosted by Liberal Democrat MP for Chichester, Jess Brown-Fuller, who is a staunch advocate for breastfeeding. Meetings are quarterly.

(left to right) Jess Brown-Fuller MP, Helen and Patricia during the presentation

The hybrid event was held in Portcullis House, which is close to the Houses of Parliament and overlooks the River Thames.

At the meeting, Helen and Patricia gave an overview of the Report’s findings. This triggered a range of questions from the audience in the room and online. Attendees included Labour MP for Ribble Valley, Maya Ellis, and Liberal Democrat MP for mid-Sussex, Alison Bennett, along with representatives of Royal Colleges and local public health teams, as well as the breastfeeding support organisations.

(left to right) Jayne Joyce and Emily Lunny (LLLGB), Helen Gray and Patricia Wise (WBTi Steering Group) and Katie Pereira-Kotze (First Steps Nutrition Trust)

Presentation title slide

APPG meetings

If you would like to be notified about future Infant Feeding APPG meetings, please contact Edmund Legrave, Parliamentary Assistant for Jess Fuller-Brown: edmund.legrave@parliament.uk

Author: Patricia Wise

Patricia Wise is an NCT Breastfeeding counsellor and a member of the WBTi UK Steering Group. She has a particular interest in health professional training in breastfeeding and her e-book, Supporting mothers who breastfeed: a guide for trainee and qualified doctors, is available on the WBTi website. 

New WBTi Report: Parliamentary launch

New WBTi Report: Parliamentary launch

Jess Brown-Fuller, MP for Chichester, hosted the formal launch of the WBTi 2024 UK report on July 24th 2025 in the Jubilee Room at the Houses of Parliament. 

(left to right) Patricia Wise, Clare Meynell, Jess Brown-Fuller MP with visiting baby Niamh, Helen Gray, Alison Spiro

Kate Quilton

Investigative journalist Kate Quilton drew on her own experiences in emphasising the importance of a  policy framework, and chaired the Q&A.

What do policymakers need to do, to protect and support breastfeeding? 

The WBTi 2024 report made a number of key policy recommendations on maternity rights, marketing regulations and food safety.

WBTi’s ‘big ask’

The aim of the WBTi project is to galvanise action to implement report recommendations, thus improving support and protection for infant feeding. Our single most immediate actionable ask is for the UK and devolved governments to adopt the eleven recommendations of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) report on regulating misleading infant formula promotion. Adopting these would help to end the profiteering we have seen in recent years (formula prices have gone up by 24%! including one by 49%!). This would also help families make informed infant feeding decisions and for them to be able to access affordable products to feed their babies if needed.

The CMA recommendations encompass many of the WBTi UK recommendations on protecting families from exploitative marketing. In addition, WBTi calls for the regulations to apply to ALL formulas from 0-36 months. This would help end the loopholes that companies use in the marketing of formulas for older babies and toddlers, or for special medical purposes.

Professor Nigel Rollins

Professor Nigel Rollins, who formerly worked for the World Health Organisation and is now at Queens University, Belfast, gave a policy overview and more details about our ‘Call to Action’. 

Parents are struggling

Professor Amy Brown of Swansea university stunned the room when she revealed some of the shocking findings of her research into the challenges families are facing to afford the high prices of formula.

Professor Amy Brown

Her presentation called for:

  • Lower priced milks – consistent, reliable and affordable pricing
  • Accurate information, not adverts
  • Parents should be supported to feed their baby without worrying about cost
  • For the health and well-being of parents and babies to be put before profits

She shared powerful testimony about the impact of the high cost of formula from parents themselves:

Breastfeeding is important

“Breastfeeding is a human right for both mother and child” (UN human rights joint statement 2016).

WBTi work is built on a foundation of human rights. UN human rights experts have made it clear that breastfeeding is a right of the dyad, the mother and infant together. The rights of one don’t supercede the other; mother and baby have rights as a dyad. It is the responsibility of our governments to support and protect those rights, by providing skilled health care, maternity protection at work, and protecting the rights of women and families to make their own informed decisions about how to feed their baby, without commercial influence.

What is the impact of low breastfeeding rates in the UK?

High costs for the NHS:

Low UK breastfeeding rates are costing the NHS £millions:

  • 54,000 more GP appointments
  • 9,500+ additional hospitalisations

Research has shown that basic interventions to support more mothers to breastfeed for longer could pay for themselves within a year. (Renfrew et al 2012)

Costing our planet:

The formula and dairy industries have a significant footprint both of greenhouse gases and water.

“For the UK alone, carbon emission savings gained by supporting mothers to breastfeeding would equate to taking between 50,000 and 77,500 cars off the road each year” (Joffe et al 2019)

Key recommendations from the WBTi Core Group

Our governments must address the ‘baby blind spots’ in national policies:

  • Protect all infants by adopting in full the recommendations of the CMA, and extending the regulations to cover all infant milks up to 3 years, in order to address current loopholes in marketing formulas for older infants or for special medical purposes.
    • WBTi recommends that regulations on safety and on marketing should be applied to feeding equipment such as bottles, teats, and other equipment, as well.
  • Protect infants and young children in emergencies by developing guidance on their care.
  • Protect the health and the rights of women and children by providing statutory rights for flexible breastfeeding/ expressing breaks and suitable facilities in the workplace and in education.
  • Develop a national infant feeding strategy and leadership for England.
  • Improve monitoring and evaluation by strengthening and coordinating data collection systems.

Find our 2016 and 2024 reports here.

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Author: Helen Gray

Helen is a member of the Steering Group for  the World Breastfeeding Trends Initiative (WBTi) project in the UK.

An IBCLC and La Leche League Leader (breastfeeding counsellor), she has served as both Communications Co-Chair and Policy and Advocacy Lead for Lactation Consultants of Great Britain. She represents La Leche League of Great Britain on the UK Baby Feeding Law Group (BFLG), which works to bring the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes into UK law.

Helen’s background in anthropology and human evolution has influenced her interest in how breastfeeding and the way we nurture our babies are influenced by both human biology and culture.

She is currently doing a research degree on the need for strong policies to protect infant feeding in emergencies. She has written several articles and chapters on the subject and served on the Advisory Panel for a London Food Resilience research project. She now represents BFLG on the global Infant Feeding in Emergencies Core Group.

New WBTi report: first findings

New WBTi report: first findings

Health professional training needs to include more on infant feeding

Gaps in health professional training on infant feeding have been one of the most talked-about findings of the WBTi project in the UK.

The soft launch of the second WBTi Report on UK infant feeding policies and programmes was held at Guy’s Hospital, London, on March 25th, with a focus on gaps in pre-registration training for health professionals.

The WBTi assessment also includes in-service training. In the UK, the main source is UNICEF Baby Friendly Initiative training.

What were the gaps?
Little has changed in these high level universal standards since the 2016 WBTi report. The most striking gap is that the general requirements for all nurses do not explicitly include infant feeding; this means that university health visitor training programs are not required to include much on breastfeeding, unless they are UNICEF Baby Friendly-accredited. Only 21% of university health visitor training programmes are BFI-accredited, although many health visitors will go on to receive in-service training as  69% of health visiting services in the community are now BFI- accredited.  Nurses in other parts of the health system, from emergency rooms to oncology or women’s health, and even in paediatric and neonatal wards, have not routinely received training in breastfeeding.  

Little support for hospitalised mothers

The WBTi team also conducted a survey of infant feeding leads on NHS Trust policies to support hospitalised mothers who are breastfeeding in wards other than maternity, for example to maintain their milk supply. We found that many Trusts lack such a policy. Scotland does have a guideline that has now been rolled out across the NHS in Scotland.

Sharing our findings

The event was well attended by key stakeholders, including representatives from the Department of Health and Social Care and devolved nations, health professional bodies, UNICEF Baby Friendly Initiative, and members of the WBTI Core Group.

The WBTi Steering Group – Helen, Clare, Alison and Patricia

Dr Bob Boyle of Imperial College set the scene with an historical background of infant feeding in the UK and globally. The WBTi team gave an overview of the report, emphasising the importance of every mother in the UK having access to an integrated network of infant feeding support, and the essential need for political commitment to enable this.

Mapping of pre-registration training standards against the WHO Education Checklist

The UK WBTI assessment maps national minimum standards for training on infant feeding topics against the Educational Checklist from WHO.

The WBTI mapping shows what any family, in any part of the UK, can expect as a minimum from their local health professionals, including not only midwives and health visitors, but also GPs, paediatricians, dietitians and pharmacists. 

The assessment found some improvements, but many gaps remain, as can be seen in the chart below, with the red indicating the gaps. It is essential that everyone caring for parents have knowledge of breastfeeding. Health workers should be able to support parents’ goals, and avoid inadvertently undermining their infant feeding decisions. 

WBTi summary table of breastfeeding topics in health professional standards

Table of basic standards in breastfeeding topics. More details can be found in Indicator 5 in the full report (Part 1). See Part 2 for a more detailed breakdown.

Author

Dr Alison Spiro is a member of the WBTi Steering Group. She is a retired NCT breastfeeding counsellor, specialist health visitor and hospital and community infant feeding lead, taking both trusts to Baby Friendly accreditation. She completed her MSc in 1994 and PhD in 2004 on Gujarati culture and breastfeeding, doing her fieldwork in Harrow and India. 

Alison is the author of a book ‘Breastfeeding for Public Health, a guide for community health professionals’ published by Routledge. 

Ready for Disaster? Infant and Young Child Feeding in Emergencies in the UK and Europe

Ready for Disaster? Infant and Young Child Feeding in Emergencies in the UK and Europe

‘Breastfeeding: Not on the Agenda’ Webinar series: ‘Ready for Disaster? Infant and young child feeding in emergencies in the UK and Europe’ will be presented today by Helen Gray, WBTi Joint Coordinator.
NOTE: this presentation is now available on YouTube

This week’s topic in the “Breastfeeding: Not on the Agenda” series of webinars is the importance of planning for the protection of infant and young child feeding in emergencies, right here in the UK.

Infants, young children, pregnant and breastfeeding women are among the most vulnerable in any emergency situation, but they are almost invisible in our national resilience planning.

In the UK, the 2016 WBTi report found that while there is national guidance on the care of farm animals, pets, zoo animals and circus animals in emergencies, but there is no mention of infants or young children. There is an assumption that parents will take all responsibility for their own family – but too often there are no guidelines or recommendations to help them to prepare or handle an emergency. 

Breastfeeding is a vital element in resilience and food security for families with infants: it provides immune protection and safe nutrition and fluids at any time, while providing both mother and child with comfort and resilience against stress. Skilled breastfeeding support is essential during emergencies, to enable breastfeeding dyads to continue.

In the UK, many infants are dependent on formula, which brings its own risks in an emergency. Infants who are not breastfed have reduced immunity to infections, in a situation where pathogens may be significantly increased due to contaminated water, or the crowding of evacuated families in rest centres. These infants depend on access to clean water, to a supply of suitable formula, and to hygienic preparation facilities and feeding equipment, and suitably trained support from responders and staff.

Local emergency planning in England and Wales is devolved to Local Resilience Forums (LRF). A recent study of LRF guidance for the public on emergency “grab bags,” by WBTi team member Patricia Wise, found that out of 42 LRF websites in England and Wales, only 27 even mention infant supplies, and 18 of those give only generic information rather than specific advice on what to pack for infants in an emergency.  Northern Ireland included a generic ‘special equipment for children’ in its grab bag recommendations.

It is not difficult to include these supplies, facilities and training in every local resilience plan – there are resources and model operational guidance on the Infant Feeding in Emergencies Core Group website.

  • Contact your Local Resilience Forum (LRF) and ask them what they include in their “grab-bag” lists and their planning for rest centres in case of evacuation.

The climate crisis is contributing to increased frequency and severity of natural disasters. The Australian Government recently funded a large research project, Babies and Young Children in the Black Summer (BiBS) Study, into the impact of the Black Summer Bushfires on families with infants and young children, conducted by the Australian Breastfeeding Association, Dr Michelle Hamrosi and Dr Karleen Gribble from Western Sydney University. One of the findings from this study was that parents with young children felt that they did not have the right information in time, that they needed extra preparation and extra time to evacuate. In fact, the title of the BiBS report is “Want to help the children? Help the parents.”

The recent global COVID-19 emergency also had a disproportionate impact on families with infants and young children. Despite consistent guidance from WHO emphasising the importance of breastfeeding to infant health, and supporting mothers to maintain breastfeeding or at least their milk supply if possible, many countries routinely separated mothers and newborns, despite disrupting breastfeeding with the risks that would entail to maternal and infant health and wellbeing (Vu et al. 2020). 

In the UK, families are also experiencing long term crises of food insecurity, especially during the current cost of living crisis. UNICEF Baby Friendly UK, NIFN and First Steps Nutrition have produced important guidance for local authorities on how to support these families. First Steps Nutrition have produced several related reports on food security for families with infants and on the impact of the cost of living crisis.

ACTION! contact your local authority and ask them

  • Whether they are implementing the UNICEF BFI guidance on food insecurity for families with infants
  • Whether your Local Resilience Forum plan includes infants and young children
  • Whether local guidance follows the Operational Guidance for Emergency Relief Staff and for Programme Managers
  • Email us to tell us what you find out! wbti@ukbreastfeeding.org
  • Volunteer to help with WBTi’s research on infant feeding in emergencies for our upcoming second assessment of UK policies!
  • Ask your MP to ask questions about this in Parliament!

This webinar is part of the documentary and webinar series “Breastfeeding: Not on the Agenda” on breastfeeding, hosted by Dr Ernestine Ndzi from York St John University.

You can register for upcoming webinars here.

Previous webinars in the series and the documentary are available on YouTube.

Helen Gray is Joint Coordinator of the World Breastfeeding Trends Initiative (WBTi) project in the UK.

She is the Policy and Advocacy Lead for Lactation Consultants of Great Britain. She represents La Leche League of Great Britain on the UK Baby Feeding Law Group (BFLG), which works to bring the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes into UK law.

Helen’s background in anthropology and human evolution has influenced her interest in how breastfeeding, and the way we nurture our babies, are influenced by both human biology and culture.

Her current advocacy focus is the need for strong policies to protect infant feeding in emergencies. She has written several articles and chapters on the subject and served on the Advisory Panel for a London Food Resilience research project. She now represents BFLG on the global Infant Feeding in Emergencies Core Group.

World Breastfeeding Week 2023 “Enabling Breastfeeding: Making a Difference for Working Parents”

World Breastfeeding Week 2023 “Enabling Breastfeeding: Making a Difference for Working Parents”

August 1-7 will once again be World Breastfeeding Week. This year, the theme “Enabling Breastfeeding: Making a Difference for Working Parents” is all about combining working and breastfeeding.

One of the key findings from our first WBTi assessment of UK breastfeeding policies and programmes was that although the UK does provide paid maternity leave, and some paid paternity leave, and although there is some guidance on good practice from ACAS and from HSE, there is no statutory right in the UK to breastfeeding breaks or facilities in the workplace.

WABA produces regular snapshot Parents at Work reports on each country’s status on implementing International Labor Organization (ILO) conventions and recommendations on maternity protection at work, including maternity leave, paternity leave, and protected breaks for breastfeeding or expressing milk.

The ILO report Care at Work: Investing in Care Leave Policies and Care Services for a More Gender- Equal World of Work provides a global overview of national laws and policies such as maternity protection, paternity, parental and other care-related leave policies, as well as childcare and long-term care services. 

Breastfeeding-friendly workplaces provide time, income security and space to enable positive nutrition and health outcomes 

All women should have the right to paid working time for breastfeeding, as called for by ILO Convention No. 183. In 2021, 138 countries provide a right to time and income security for breastfeeding. These provisions potentially benefit 8 in 10 potential mothers across the world. Since 2011, seven countries have introduced paid nursing breaks. However, breastfeeding breaks remain unpaid in four high-income countries. In 2021, at least four pathfinder countries recognize men’s supporting role by offering breastfeeding breaks to fathers. 

Almost 5 in 10 potential mothers live in countries that grant two daily breastfeeding breaks; while 109 countries offer the right to daily nursing breaks for six months or more. This would support exclusive breastfeeding in line with World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations for 7 in 10 potential mothers across the world. However, only ten countries provide a right to breastfeeding breaks for at least two years, compromising mothers’ ability to continuing breastfeeding. 

Workplace nursing facilities are a key ingredient of breastfeeding-friendly workplaces. However, only 42 countries offer the right to workplace nursing facilities, covering roughly 6 in 10 potential mothers globally. While small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are often exempted from these requirements, research shows that the economic and well-being benefits of breastfeeding for the new-born, the mother and the employer outweigh the limited costs of these measures. Only 13 countries offer a right to workplace nursing facilities irrespective of the number and sex of workers, with only 5 in 100 potential mothers worldwide living in these countries. Conditionalities for nursing facilities based on sex are discriminatory and remain in place in 19 countries. 

WBW Action Folder

Details for campaigning for improved policies and support for breastfeeding in the workplace can be found in the World Breastfeeding Week Action Folder.

WBW Pledge Map

Organising a WBW2023 celebration? Add it to the pledge map! 

WBTi UK’s WBW outline of the week

Tuesday 1 August

Introduction

Wednesday 2nd August at 12 noon

‘Breastfeeding: Not on the Agenda’ Webinar series: ‘Ready for Disaster? Infant and young child feeding in emergencies in the UK and Europe’ by Helen Gray MPhil IBCLC, WBTi Joint Coordinator

Previous webinars in the series and the documentary are available on YouTube.

Thursday 3rd August at 1pm

‘Let’s make breastfeeding work – optimal maternity leave and workplace accommodations support an environment that enables breastfeeding’. Free webinar from the Global Breastfeeding Collective, led by WHO and UNICEF.

Register HERE 

Friday 4th August

Maternity Action’s Senior Policy Officer Annah Psarros, on their new Toolkit for Employers, including a model Breastfeeding Policy

Saturday 5th August

Dr Ernestine Ndzi on Shared Parental Leave

Sunday 6th August

LCpl Natasha Day MBE, founder of the Defense Breastfeeding Network

Monday 7th August

Final blog from Dr Ernestine Ndzi on the need for “Family-Friendly Policies at Work”, and a Call to Action

Petition

And finally, everyone is encouraged to sign and share this petition from Dr. Ernestine Ndizi, calling for the government to:

  • Embed breastfeeding in the school curriculum and relevant health professional training.
  • Provide a policy on breastfeeding in the workplace which will protect the rights of breastfeeding mothers in the workplace.
  • Mandate all large public places like shopping malls, community centres, public libraries, museums, etc to provide breastfeeding rooms or spaces.
  • Fully adopt The Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes to protect babies and their families from harmful commercial influences and undermining of breastfeeding for commercial profit; and to protect families who formula feed from the escalating costs of premium brands.
  • Provide adequate 24/7 specialist lactation support in maternity services to actively counteract the culture of formula top-ups in hospitals; and to enable human donor milk to be more accessible as an option when mother’s milk is not immediately available.
  • Guarantee a sustained funding support to breastfeeding organisations who play a key part in supporting mothers.

– Include breastfeeding support on the Net Zero Environmental Agenda.

Sign the petition HERE

Join the 2nd WBTi Assessment of the UK!

Join the 2nd WBTi Assessment of the UK!

Do YOU want to be part of driving change for our children’s future?

The second assessment is now underway. It will run throughout this year and be launched in 2024.

What is the WBTi? 

The World Breastfeeding Trends Initiative (WBTi) is a human rights-based, evidence-informed, collaborative and participatory national assessment of the implementation of key policies and programmes from the WHO’s Global Strategy for Infant and Young Child Feeding, and is a project developed by the International Baby Food Action Network (IBFAN). Currently nearly 100 countries are taking part.

WBTI Indicators of Policy and Programmes

  1. National policy, programme, and coordination 
  2. Baby Friendly Initiative
  3. International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes
  4. Maternity protection in the workplace   
  5. Health professional training  
  6. Community based support
  7. Information support and communications
  8. Infant feeding and HIV
  9. Infant and young child feeding during emergencies     
  10. Monitoring and evaluation 

In 2016, the UK scored just 50.5/ 100 on these ten key policy indicators.

WBTi brings together the main government agencies, health professional bodies, and civil society organisations involved in infant and maternal health and nutrition in each country to work together to collect information, identify gaps and generate recommendations for action. This Core Group must be free of conflicts of interest from the baby feeding industry (all infant or toddler milks up to 3 years, baby foods, bottles or teats).

The Global Breastfeeding Collective, led by WHO and UNICEF, recommend that the WBTi process be repeated, at least every 5 years, to monitor implementation of key policies, and include this in each country’s score on the Global Breastfeeding Scorecard. 

Volunteers wanted

Many volunteers contributed to the success of the first UK WBTI assessment in 2016.

Your contribution is valuable, large or small: 

  • Writing
  • Social media
  • Graphic design
  • Advocacy
  • Freedom of Information requests.
  • Fundraising
  • Mapping infant feeding training standards
  • Auditing numbers of breastfeeding counsellors and peer supporters
  • Project management
  • Virtual assistant skills
  • Parliamentary research
  • and more

You can find the main WBTi UK 2016 Report Part 1, and Part 2 with supplementary material, with Report Cards for each of the four nations and for the UK overall,  here:  https://ukbreastfeeding.org/wbtiuk2016/

Twitter: @wbtiuk 

Facebook: Breastfeeding – WBTi

Facebook page on emergencies: Safely Fed UK – Infant Feeding in Emergencies 

Website

Contact us! wbti@ukbreastfeeding.org

#StepUpForBreastfeeding: We are the Building Blocks #WBW2022

#StepUpForBreastfeeding: We are the Building Blocks #WBW2022

It takes a village to raise a child – we all have a role to play to support breastfeeding mothers and babies. 

We all are the building blocks responsible for supporting new families: partners and family members, health workers, neighbours and community members, religious leaders, employers, academics, governments and policy makers. We can all make a difference. We need to step up to our responsibilities. Everyone needs to understand the importance of breastfeeding – for maternal and infant physical and mental health and wellbeing, for public health, for our economy, and for our planet.

For WBW this year, WABA has produced an extensive suite of materials looking at all these roles and responsibilities. They have outlined the challenges that breastfeeding families face at every stage from conception, through birth, getting breastfeeding off to a good start, and maintaining breastfeeding all the way through starting solids and going back to work, and the solutions we need in each situation – all backed up by links to the latest evidence. 

The #WBW2022 Action Folder pulls all this together: it is a useful resource for anyone using evidence to build policies and best practice. You can download it as a PDF and all the links to research and references will be live.

The UK WBTi team will be highlighting just a few of the concepts this week:

  • Health workers: the importance of relevant, evidence-based. The advertising of follow-on milks, on the media, from 6 months in the UK has led to confusion, resulting in some parents seeing formula milk as equivalent to breastmilk, or that breastfeeding should stop at 6 months.  The International Code needs to be adopted by the UK government in full, to reduce this confusion and protect breastfeeding. training for all those who work with women, infants and young children
  • UNICEF UK Baby Friendly Initiative and the BFHI worldwide sets out ways in which healthcare staff can receive sound, evidence-based, basic training in supporting breastfeeding. 

ALSO join a special webinar from the Global Breastfeeding Collective on BFHI, with some added specialist topics on supporting small and underweight breastfeeding infants, and on infant feeding in emergencies. (7-9 AM BST and again at 4-6 PM BST). Register HERE

  • Community support: Access to skilled, integrated support for all, with a special focus in the GBC webinar on how to support breastfeeding infants who are not gaining well (NICE NG 75,2017). All parents should have easy access to trained healthcare staff- midwives, paediatricians, health visitors and GPs- breastfeeding peer supporters and specialist support (IBCLC, BFCs). Supporting breastfeeding in complex circumstances: Specialist support from IBCLCS, BFCs, or infant feeding leads, integrated with specialist healthcare teams 
  • Protecting infants and young children in emergencies. National policies should guide Local Resilience Forums but these do not exist at present. 
  • The impact of misleading marketing: The International Code. The advertising of follow-on milks, on the media, from 6 months in the UK has led to confusion, resulting in some parents seeing formula milk as equivalent to breastmilk, or that breastfeeding should stop at 6 months.  The International Code needs to be adopted by the UK government in full, to reduce this confusion and protect breastfeeding.
  • Governments with national and local policy makers need to protect all families and support them to make informed feeding decisions free of commercial influence.

What can YOU do?

It is time for a reassessment of the UK’s national infant feeding policies and programmes. YOU could help! Volunteers are welcome with knowledge in any of the ten policy areas (Indicators 1-10), or with skills such as research, writing, graphics, social media and more – feel free to contact us for a chat!

WBTi Key Indicators:

Indicator 1: National policy, programme and coordination
Indicator 2: Baby Friendly Initiative
Indicator 3: International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes

Indicator 4: Maternity protection 
Indicator 5: Health professional training
Indicator 6: Community-based support 
Indicator 7: Information support 
Indicator 8: Infant feeding and HIV 

Indicator 9: Infant and young child feeding during emergencies 

Indicator 10: Monitoring and evaluation 

Which one will YOU choose?

Contact us: wbti@ukbreastfeeding.org

Helen Gray MPhil IBCLC is Joint Coordinator of the WBTi UK Steering Group.

Infant Feeding in Emergencies – Resources for supporting families from #Ukraine #IYCFE

Infant Feeding in Emergencies – Resources for supporting families from #Ukraine #IYCFE

Our WBTi work has revealed that in the UK we have no national guidance on the support and feeding of infants and young children, or pregnant or breastfeeding mothers, during emergencies. There is currently a postcode lottery of Local Resilience Forums who include a few details in their advice to the public such as “Remember to pack formula and nappies for your baby”, but there is no national guidance for LRFs and local authorities that they should include infants and young children in their planning.

This page will serve as a repository for resources for those planning services and those providing feeding support for Ukrainian families with infants and young children.

Breastfeeding provides infants with food security, immune protection, and emotional comfort during disasters.
Basic priorities in an emergency:

1) Support new mothers to hold their babies skin to skin and begin breastfeeding within the first hour.

2) Support mothers who are breastfeeding, partially or fully breastfeeding, to continue breastfeeding and increase their milk supply if needed: provide access to skilled feeding support.

3) Protect infants who are not breastfed: Trained infant feeding / nutrition support teams from trusted NGOs like UNICEF will provide access to safe supplies of appropriate infant formula for babies that need it, and support with safe preparation under hazardous conditions.

4) Protect all infants: breastmilk substitutes and feeding equipment (infant formulas and other milks, bottles, teats, breast pumps and also donor human milk) will be provided by trusted NGOs like UNICEF; the public should AVOID sending donations of these into high risk settings, but send donations of funds to trusted NGOS instead. This will enable them to provide families with what is needed on the ground.

These organisations are members of the Infant Feeding in Emergencies Core Group and have created the international Operational Guidance on Infant Feeding in Emergencies. Please consider supporting their work with families with infants and young children.

We have collected links to infant feeding resources in Ukrainian, and also in the languages of countries housing refugee families, for breastfeeding helpers and aid workers in those countries.

Please send us any suggestions for additional resources

We have a few other resources not included here; please email us any enquiries.

NOTE: we will continue to add links and resources to this page, and these organisations are continuing to add further translations into more languages – please make sure that you clear your cache, or ‘refresh’ the page, each time you open any of these links to ensure that you find the most up to date page.

NOTE: We are providing these resources as a public service, but we cannot read the resources in other languages ourselves, so we cannot always vouch for the accuracy of the contents. Please have someone fluent in the language read it for you.

CONTACT: wbti@ukbreastfeeding.org

WHERE TO START? Watch this 4 minute introductory video from Save the Children

Aid worker or emergency planner? Short video here: how can you incorporate best practice into your support for Ukrainian families?

GET INFORMED: Read the first 25 pages of the Guidance for an overview of best practice.

Resources from the Global Breastfeeding Collective, led by WHO and UNICEF

It is important to continue breastfeeding if you are COVID positive: your milk can pass antibodies to your baby! More resources HERE.

UNICEF UK Baby Friendly resources

Guidance for local authorities on infant feeding during COVID19 (from BFI, First Steps Nutrition Trust, and NIFN). First line guidance for UK local authorities responsible for supporting families

The provision of formula in food banks (November 2020)

Statement on infant formula in food banks (November 2020) – signposting

See also the response to Question 11 on formula donations and distribution in their FAQ here

International humanitarian guidelines and operational guidance

Sphere Handbook

Operational Guidance on Infant feeding in Emergencies
for Emergency Relief Staff and Programme Managers
Available in numerous languages

Media Guide and Guide on writing/ talking about infant feeding in emergencies
These are extremely useful for humanitarian aid organisations and for the media in framing the situation

Guidance for helpers not trained in supporting infant feeding

This short leaflet was written for local authorities and those supporting Afghan refugee families but could be useful for those supporting Ukrainian refugees in the UK. It sets the context, lists some useful resources for parents, provides information about making up powdered infant formula correctly and describes useful actions in some possible scenarios.

Infant feeding support resources – multiple languages

Rapid Feeding Assessment Key Phrases in multiple languages (including Ukrainian, Russian, Romanian, Polish and English – scroll down the page)

Simple Points for Helpers – infant feeding in emergencies in multiple languages (including Ukrainian, Russian, Romanian, Polish and English – scroll down the page)


Pictorial counselling cards in many languages including Russian, adapted to include COVID19 recommendations. Some are full pictorial sets, while some are simply the translation matrix.

Infant Feeding flyer for families in transit (including English, Ukrainian, Polish, Russian, updated for COVID19). Developed by the volunteer team from Infant Feeding Support for Refugee Children/ Safely Fed

Posters and booklets in Ukrainian hosted by the Lithuanian IBCLC Association

Pictorial book about breastfeeding (no words) from La Leche League Netherlands. The PDF is free to use for all. Printing and sharing is allowed, as long as the original file (including credits) is unaltered. Price listed on website is for printed version.

Breastfeeding resources in multiple languages including Ukrainian, Romanian, Russian. (From the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, USA)

Breastfeeding Matters – A Guide to Breastfeeding for Women and their Families (from best Start, Ontario Canada) can be downloaded free in Russian and other languages

Translations of key phrases, breastfeeding infographics in many languages, and more: Safely Fed European resources

La Leche League International: Variety of resources and infographics in infant feeding in emergencies translated into multiple languages – most are directed at mothers and parents

Global Health Media: Videos on childbirth and breastfeeding topics.

Infant Feeding in Emergencies Social Media resources:

Infant Feeding Support for Refugee Children Facebook Page: Memes/ graphics in multiple languages, with appropriate captions

La Leche League International Facebook page: Memes/ graphics in multiple languages, aimed at mothers and parents

Safely Fed UK Facebook page – volunteers welcome to create graphics in Canva and to monitor the page! Contact WBTi UK: wbti@ukbreastfeeding.org

For policy makers, emergency planners, media and humanitarian aid workers

Policy resources, media guide, training materials: Infant Feeding in Emergencies Core Group

IYCFE Hub: global hub of resources

Background information on breastfeeding in Ukraine: WBTi 2015 Ukraine Assessment Report

Policy resources, translations of key phrases, and more: Safely Fed European resources

Please do contact us if you are interested in volunteering or have some useful resources to share!!

CONTACT: wbti@ukbreastfeeding.org

Helen Gray MPhil IBCLC is Joint Coordinator of the WBTI UK Steering Team, and Policy and Advocacy Lead at Lactation Consultants of Great Britain. Her research interests include human rights and infant and young child feeding in emergencies.

A winner! Working together to support families

A winner! Working together to support families

If you attended the 2015 Unicef UK Baby Friendly conference you may have noticed, or taken part, in the informal World Breastfeeding Trends Initiative (WBTi) competition to guess the final assessment score. Sue Ashfield is the winner as her estimate was closest to the actual score of 50.5 out of 100 for Indicators 1-10.

The score is a measure of how the UK is performing against the implementation of key policies and programmes to support mothers who want to breastfeed and the healthcare professionals who help them.

Sue is the lead and Specialist Health Visitor (Infant Nutrition) of First Community Health and Care in East Surrey. Sue is a winner in a much bigger way than the WBTi competition because her community team was reaccredited by Baby Friendly earlier this year and they also supported 10 local children centres in achieving full BFI accreditation in one year. The formal presentation of the award was on March 14th. Sue pays tribute to the hard work of her colleagues for the achievement but it also reflects her commitment and leadership.  Read more here.

Her team is a brilliant example of what the WBTi UK report recommends for Indicator 6 (community-based support). There is close, integrated working between 0-19 public health team, breastfeeding counsellors, peer supporters and children centres at the three Baby Cafes, which have been runnning for 10 years.

Practitioners from the 0-19 team work at the Baby Cafes on a rota basis, alongside the breastfeeding counsellor. When they see mothers at home or at drop-in clinics they encourage them to attend the Baby Cafes for social support or more specialised support or just to chat to one of the peer supporters. The breastfeeding counsellors at the Baby Cafes have now trained over 200 peer supporters and this has increased the breastfeeding knowledge and skills within the local community.

Winner blog
Credit: Eleanor Stock

The photo above shows Sue holding the Baby Friendly Initiative (BFI) accreditation plaque along with some members of the 0-19 team, some senior managers and their BFI Guardian. Since April, all three community services in Surrey have come together as Children and Family Health Surrey to deliver children’s services.

Sue comments that she found particularly useful the information in the WBTi report about interventions and investment offered in the past and also Report Cards and the summary gaps and recommendations. She will use the findings in the report to inform local commissioners and disseminate information to staff and other stakeholders.

An integrated service like this is needed in all areas, yet in so many places services are being cut, particularly peer support programmes and breastfeeding support drop-ins.

Many congratulations Sue.

 

Cover photo credit: Paul Carter

PW Photo for WBTi MAINN presentation

 

Patricia Wise is an NCT breastfeeding counsellor and a member of the WBTi Steering Group