Introduction to the Infant Feeding Strategy
The London Borough of Barnet Infant Feeding Strategy 2021 - 2025 set out the direction to support agencies and the public, Borough wide, to protect, promote, support and normalise breastfeeding. Parents may choose to breastfeed, use expressed breastmilk or use infant formula, and this is often a very personal decision. While the Strategy promotes the choice of breastfeeding, the goal is for all parents/caregivers to feel informed and supported in how they feed their baby.
Breastfeeding and human breastmilk promotes health, prevents disease, saves lives and contributes to reducing a broad range of inequalitiesContinue reading
Introduction to the Infant Feeding Strategy
The London Borough of Barnet Infant Feeding Strategy 2021 - 2025 set out the direction to support agencies and the public, Borough wide, to protect, promote, support and normalise breastfeeding. Parents may choose to breastfeed, use expressed breastmilk or use infant formula, and this is often a very personal decision. While the Strategy promotes the choice of breastfeeding, the goal is for all parents/caregivers to feel informed and supported in how they feed their baby.
Breastfeeding and human breastmilk promotes health, prevents disease, saves lives and contributes to reducing a broad range of inequalities. The World Health Organisation recommends breastfeeding exclusively for the first six months of baby’s life, and then in conjunction with solids up to and beyond two years of age. There are benefits for baby, mother, the wider family, the environment, and estimated cost savings for health services. However, breastfeeding can be hard and currently eight out of ten women stop breastfeeding before they want to. We acknowledge that some parents who want to breastfeed may not be able to or have to stop before they want to. Support for these families is crucial, to support their mental wellbeing and manage feelings of disappointment, frustration, even grief. The rapid decline in breastfeeding over the latter half century has resulted in fewer than half of babies in England receiving human breast milk at the age of two months.
In Barnet, there has been a wide variation in breastfeeding rates from 62% of babies at eight weeks breastfeeding to just 40% in some parts of the borough. There are a range of factors that influence breastfeeding initiation and ongoing support to mothers. The strategy was launched with the aim to work together across a range of services and with our communities to reduce variations and increase a proportion of babies being breastfed overall.
The Infant Feeding Strategy is underpinned by the understanding that feeding is part of a relationship between the mother/caregiver and the baby, and supports building that special parent-infant relationship, however a baby is fed. It calls for a collaborative approach where breastfeeding is normalised and considered as everyone’s business to support.
What we are planning
In early 2025 we are reviewing the Infant Feeding Strategy, looking for areas of strength and areas for growth with regards to infant feeding support in the borough. Information that we will gather will help guide us as we consider both the families and caregivers and the health care practitioners supporting the families in their journeys.
Reviewing the strategy means we can implement more positive change and further strengthen the great things about the support already in place.
Your views are important to us
We would love to hear your views and experiences on infant feeding in Barnet if you are:
- a parent / caregiver who has had a baby or babies in the last two years and is a Barnet resident (or was a Barnet resident when the baby was born)
- a health care practitioner working with families of children younger than one year old in Barnet
How to have your say:
Complete our online questionnaire
We are keen to hear your views on and encourage you to have your say by completing our online questionnaires:
If you would like to request a paper questionnaire or another format, please:
- email clare.slater-robins@barnet.gov.uk
- write to us at Infant Feeding Strategy, Children and Young People, 2nd Floor, London Borough of Barnet, 2 Bristol Avenue, Colindale, London, NW9 4EW.
If you would like someone to help you complete the questionnaire or need more information, please contact us using one of the above methods.
What happens after the questionnaire closes?
The council will use the survey findings to inform our strategy review. We will feedback the results by July 2025.
