Speaking in the D\u00e1il today, Jennifer Whitmore TD, the Social Democrats spokesperson for Children, called on the Government to commit to funding and implementing the National Breastfeeding Action Plan.<\/p>\n
Deputy Whitmore said:<\/p>\n
\u201cToday marks the start of National Breastfeeding Week so I felt it was a good time to remind the Government of Ireland\u2019s poor breastfeeding record.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe reality is that Ireland lags way behind other countries when it comes to breastfeeding. HSE figures from 2016 show that exclusive breastfeeding rates here on discharge from hospitals are 46.3 percent.<\/p>\n
\u201cHowever, according to 2013 WHO World Health Statistics, only 15 percent of children in Ireland are exclusively breastfed for the first six months \u2013 this compares with the global average of 38 percent and a European average of 25 percent.<\/p>\n
\u201cI welcome today\u2019s acknowledgment in the D\u00e1il by the Green Party Leader, Minister Eamon Ryan TD, that these figures are not acceptable and need to be improved on.<\/p>\n
\u201cHowever, his positive comments must be matched by a Government commitment to fund and implement the National Breastfeeding Action Plan.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis plan contains policies at hospital and community level to support women who want to breastfeed their child; investment in breastfeeding training and skills development for healthcare staff; additional lactation specialist posts; and a partnership that works to promote a culture that accepts and supports breastfeeding.<\/p>\n
\u201cAdditional funding should also be provided for voluntary organisations such as La Leche League, Cuidi\u00fa and Friends of Breastfeeding.<\/p>\n
\u201cWorryingly, a study published today by BabyDoc found that more than a third of mothers who had a baby in the last 12 months and decided not to breastfeed \u2013 or had to stop within the first two weeks \u2013 felt judged by others. This highlights the work that needs to be done to normalise breastfeeding and further educate the public about its benefits.<\/p>\n
\u201cHowever, there are encouraging signs that the Covid-19 lockdown may have helped to increase our breastfeeding rates, with 26 percent of mothers who gave birth during the pandemic now hitting the five to eight-month breastfeeding milestone. The Government should build on this progress by addressing funding shortfalls and deplorable breastfeeding rates in the upcoming Budget.\u201d<\/p>\n
October 1, 2020<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Speaking in the D\u00e1il today, Jennifer Whitmore TD, the Social Democrats spokesperson for Children, called on the Government to commit to funding and implementing the National Breastfeeding Action Plan. Deputy Whitmore said: \u201cToday marks the start of National Breastfeeding Week so I felt it was a good time to remind the Government of Ireland\u2019s poor […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1230,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[268,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1229","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-jennifer-whitmore","category-press-release"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n