UK Wedding News
05/03/2018
Of the 1,000 mothers of young children, 66% said that before the birth of their first child, their biggest priority was buying baby equipment, while 49% said preparing for labour and 40% said buying baby clothes.
However, post birth, 24% wished they had read about and were more prepared for breastfeeding, while one in four (26%) of those who had given breast milk to their first child wished they had known that asking for help can make a difference.
Evidence shows the right support helps mothers to breastfeed for longer. PHE's programme Start4Life has created the Breastfeeding Friend to encourage parents to adopt healthy behaviours.
It is available for free on a range of platforms, including Facebook Messenger, and now, for the first time, it will also be available as a skill for Amazon Alexa's voice service.
Mothers can ask Alexa a variety of questions about breastfeeding and the answers will be provided tailored to the age of the baby. This means that they can get advice even when their hands are full.
Viv Bennett, Chief Nurse at Public Health England said: "Breastfeeding, whilst natural, is something that mothers and babies learn together, and whilst learning, women may have questions and setbacks.
"PHE is working with health professionals to make sure women are not embarrassed and receive timely help. Health professionals do an excellent job of caring for new mothers, but they cannot be available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, which is where our Breastfeeding Friend from Start4Life is designed to help.
"This tool, together with the range of support materials from Start4Life, can provide breastfeeding advice at any time of night or day and support mothers and their partners and families through challenges they may face.
"These digital offerings will help guide new parents through their first weeks of breastfeeding and beyond, providing help at any time of the day or night, and aim to complement support and advice from health care professionals and breastfeeding specialists. The information provided by all the Start4Life services is NHS approved and both services are independent of Amazon and Facebook."
PHE recommends exclusive breastfeeding for around the first six months of a baby's life as its boosts their ability to fight illness and infection. Babies who are not breastfed are more likely to get diarrhoea and chest infections. Breastfeeding also lowers a mother's risk of breast cancer and may reduce the risk of ovarian cancer.
Almost three-quarters of women start breastfeeding when their child is born, however by six to eight weeks this drops to just 44%, making breastfeeding rates in England among the lowest in the world.
(JP/LM)
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New Tech Helps Support Breastfeeding Mums
A new survey, commissioned by Public Health England (PHE), has found that – in hindsight – mothers wished they had been better prepared for breastfeeding.Of the 1,000 mothers of young children, 66% said that before the birth of their first child, their biggest priority was buying baby equipment, while 49% said preparing for labour and 40% said buying baby clothes.
However, post birth, 24% wished they had read about and were more prepared for breastfeeding, while one in four (26%) of those who had given breast milk to their first child wished they had known that asking for help can make a difference.
Evidence shows the right support helps mothers to breastfeed for longer. PHE's programme Start4Life has created the Breastfeeding Friend to encourage parents to adopt healthy behaviours.
It is available for free on a range of platforms, including Facebook Messenger, and now, for the first time, it will also be available as a skill for Amazon Alexa's voice service.
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Mothers can ask Alexa a variety of questions about breastfeeding and the answers will be provided tailored to the age of the baby. This means that they can get advice even when their hands are full.
Viv Bennett, Chief Nurse at Public Health England said: "Breastfeeding, whilst natural, is something that mothers and babies learn together, and whilst learning, women may have questions and setbacks.
"PHE is working with health professionals to make sure women are not embarrassed and receive timely help. Health professionals do an excellent job of caring for new mothers, but they cannot be available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, which is where our Breastfeeding Friend from Start4Life is designed to help.
"This tool, together with the range of support materials from Start4Life, can provide breastfeeding advice at any time of night or day and support mothers and their partners and families through challenges they may face.
"These digital offerings will help guide new parents through their first weeks of breastfeeding and beyond, providing help at any time of the day or night, and aim to complement support and advice from health care professionals and breastfeeding specialists. The information provided by all the Start4Life services is NHS approved and both services are independent of Amazon and Facebook."
PHE recommends exclusive breastfeeding for around the first six months of a baby's life as its boosts their ability to fight illness and infection. Babies who are not breastfed are more likely to get diarrhoea and chest infections. Breastfeeding also lowers a mother's risk of breast cancer and may reduce the risk of ovarian cancer.
Almost three-quarters of women start breastfeeding when their child is born, however by six to eight weeks this drops to just 44%, making breastfeeding rates in England among the lowest in the world.
(JP/LM)
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