Mothers urged to breastfeed their babies

The district is driving forward with recommendations from Unicef and the infant mortality action plan to improve maternal nutrition and increase breastfeeding rates, helping to reduce infant mortality and improve the lives of babies.

Statistics show that formula-fed babies are five times more likely to suffer stomach upsets than those who drink their mother's milk.

Half of hospital stays due to stomach upsets could be cut each month if more mothers were to breastfeed, says NHS Bradford and Airedale

Sam Britton, Baby Friendly lead for the local NHS, said: "The district has adopted a Baby Friendly initiative to help improve the rates of breastfeeding. Bradford Royal Infirmary is already Baby Friendly accredited and Airedale General Hospital is currently following in its steps and preparing for its final assessment.

"The recommendations that we are following will help make sure that our current service provides outstanding support to breastfeeding women."

The district aims to put into practice the Unicef 10 steps to successful breastfeeding which include: telling all pregnant mothers about the benefits of breastfeeding, training all healthcare staff in skills needed to provide a high standard of service, and encouraging breastfeeding on demand.

According to NHS Bradford and Airedale, babies who are breastfed have better health – including less heart disease, stomach upsets, urine and ear infections, eczema and childhood diabetes.

Unicef has found that the reduction of child deaths from 13 million globally to 8.8 million in 2008 is partly due to the adoption of basic health interventions such as early and exclusive breastfeeding.

The Department of Health recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of an infant's life, as it provides all the nutrients a baby needs.