Breastfeeding Support Service

Breastfeeding rates in the Better Start Bradford area are low, with fewer than half of mothers continuing to breastfeed by the time their baby is 6-8 weeks old. Local data reveals a significant decline in breastfeeding within the first two weeks after birth. Many mothers indicate that they stop breastfeeding earlier than they intended. Families also report inconsistent and unreliable breastfeeding support.

Although more than 70% of women in the Better Start Bradford area begin breastfeeding, the majority stop within the first days or weeks, often before they are ready to.*

The core objective was to allow women to breastfeed for as long as they wanted to.

*Royal College of Midwives (2014) Infant Feeding – supporting parent choice

• More babies in the Better Start Bradford area would be fully or partially breastfed (measured 6-8 weeks and at 6 months)
• Families would give their babies fewer breastmilk substitutes without direct clinical need (measured as rates of artificial feeding)
• More mothers and babies would achieve successful physical establishing of breastfeeding (mother’s milk changes from colostrum to second stage milk and baby puts on weight normally, physical problems like sore nipples or engorgement are minimal)

• 1855 families were supported by this project.
• 6892 support calls were made to families.
• 44% of those supported were still exclusively breastfeeding at 6 months compared to the district average of 30.85%.**
• 45 (3%) of participants received more than ten support visits.
• 54% of participants were contacted while still at hospital, over the lifespan of the project.
• Families were able to get support immediately after birth once the team was embedded in the postnatal ward. This supported families at the most crucial time and assisted midwifery colleagues.
• The project always provided a seamless pathway to support, including for staff to refer into the service. Being embedded on the postnatal wards means all families birthing at Bradford Royal Infirmary will receive initial feeding support irrespective of their postcode.
• The service extended to 11 of 30 wards in the district as part of the Start for Life programme.
• Additionally, as part of the Start for Life contract work, there were 2 drop-ins for families to attend in the City and West areas, allowing families to attend an in-person friendly group informally.

*This section includes information from both the evaluation report/s and project

**Office for Health Improvement and Disparities – Breastfeeding at 6 to 8 weeks: quarterly data for 2023 to 2024