Start4Life, Public Health England’s marketing programme that helps parents-to-be and parents to adopt healthy behaviours, has launched a new interactive ‘Start4Life Breastfeeding Friend’ (BFF) to guide new mums thorough their first weeks of breastfeeding and help them breastfeed successfully by providing personal support for mothers at any time of the day.
Through one-to-one messaging and push notifications, the Start4Life BFF gives mums 24/7 access to expert NHS advice in a friendly, accessible way.
The new interactive chatbot, which can be accessed through Facebook messenger, is launched as data has illustrated that, despite almost three quarters of mothers starting breastfeeding (73%), just 44% are still breastfeeding at 6-8 weeks.
A new survey of 500 mothers of young children conducted by Public Health England also revealed that over half of mums were concerned about whether their baby was getting too much or not enough milk, and nearly 3 in 10 worried their baby might not be getting the right nutrients, indicating why mothers may stop breastfeeding at this early point.
Breastfeeding lays the foundation for good health in children and the introduction of this supportive tool will help to break down breastfeeding, which are often misconceptions, and alleviate concerns mums have about breastfeeding.
In addition to the ‘Start4Life Breastfeeding Friend’ bot, hints and tips for successful breastfeeding and useful information for parents-to-be and parents young children on giving their children the best start in life are available to help from the Start4Life website and the Start4Life Information Service for Parents.
Beverley mum, Lisa Harrop, said: “I breastfed my son from birth but it was incredibly difficult for the first three months due to problems such as poor latch, extreme soreness and stress caused by a struggle to feed in public places.
“However, I persevered despite the difficulties and was happy to be able to give my son the most natural food he could consume, as well as save time by not having to mess about with bottles etc. It also saved us a lot of money.
“My child is never really poorly and I believe this is due to the breast milk.
“I understand that not all mothers are able to feed their child this way, but I would definitely recommend that new mothers try to breastfeed if possible as the benefits are huge and can save a tired mother a lot of hassle.”
Isabel Carrick, Public Health lead at East Riding of Yorkshire Council, said: “In the East Riding of Yorkshire services are being brought together to give all women the support and information they need, whatever their infant feeding choice.
“As part of this we aim to assist those women who want to breastfeed their babies to continue to 6 weeks and beyond.
“This includes targeting additional support in localities where large numbers of women who have begun breastfeeding stop before 6 weeks, and providing specialist support for those who need it.
“It is pleasing that the East Riding appears not to have seen the same fall in rates of breastfeeding at six weeks as the national picture, and over the last year has several times exceeded the England average, and reached its highest ever rate of 46.7% of infants still being breastfed.”
For more information visit nhs.uk/start4life/breastfeeding
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