Hi all, I came across the following story in the Sun newspaper, a paper not known for it's scrupulous accuracy, regarding Britain's child health amoung the worst in Europe. The Sun article mentioned our appalling breastfeeding rates as one reason (it claimed the rates were 80% in middle class families, 44% in poor families - I think that must be intiation rates, but still...). So, I looked up BBC News Online to see what they said (the same site with the "Breastmilk highly contaminated" headline). Here is a portion:- DOCTORS CALL FOR CHILD HEALTH ACTION An independent commission should fight to improve child health Independent "Children's Commissioners" should be appointed to help tackle serious inequalities in the health of rich and poor children, says the British Medical Association. The comissioners, one each for England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, would act as advocates for the "most vulnerable" group in society, the association adds. James Westhead reports on the crisis in the health of Britain's children The UK has a worse rate of infant mortality than Slovenia and equal to underdeveloped Albania in the number of babies born dangerously underweight. The call is made in a report, "Growing up in Britain: Ensuring a Healthy Future for our Children". It calls for other key policies to be endorsed by the government. These include: * An annual report on the health of children from the Chief Medical Officer * No further cuts in lone parent benefits * Changes to tax and education to tackle "social exclusion" * Action to reduce the level of teenage pregnancy and smoking in pregnancy * Antenatal testing for HIV to reduce transmission from mother to baby It also identifies six other areas, including child care, obesity, and the increased incidence of asthma, into which new research is needed. Critical of 'turf wars' Dr James Appleyard, who heads the task force, said: "Health policymakers need to justify placing children's services so low on their agenda. "We need to end the turf wars that create unnecessary barriers between different government agencies." Dr Vivienne Nathanson, BMA Head of Ethics, said: "We have high accident rates, high injury rates, and we are not succeeding against getting 100% immunisation against infectious diseases. "All these things together mean we do badly in these world tables." She added: "One thing we can do is have a child's commissioner to actually look at all government policy and make sure it is child centred and child sensitive." {snip} -- Anna H. Breastfeeding Advocate and would-be writer http://www.ratbag.demon.co.uk/anna/ *********************************************** The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM) mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html