interestingly at the Department of Health conference yesterday, where the UK
stats were announced, for the first time in England many spoke up in the
question time to question the governement committment to breastfeeding and
to ask for a national strategy (they have one in Wales and Northern Ireland)
and also to question why we don't have the Code as legislation, why labels
for 'weaning' foods can still say from 4 months, and why the govt is giving
so many millions to treatment of glue ear and asthma and only one million a
year to bf promotion.  [these questions may not seem radical to you, but
coming from UK hps they were interesting and unexpected.  There was also a
lot of applause at them.]  I think everyone was dissappointed that they have
worked really hard and the stats are static.

My favourite bit was when Randha Saadeh from WHO spoke (about the global
strategy, Innocenti, monitoring, etc) and showed Europe-wide stats with a
bar chart showing how UK is 'the sick man of Europe' just above France,
while areas like Kazakstan are way way way ahead of us in initiation of bf.
(Norway topped the league).  I would pay good money for a copy of that
slide!!

Magda Sachs
Breastfeeding Supporter, BfN, UK

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