Health Promotion And The Involvement Of UK Government (Essay Sample)

BREASTFEEDING IN THE UK
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Executive Summary
Breastfeeding is fundamental for development, health and survival of a child. Based on these factors, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended that mothers should breastfeed their infants exclusively for the first six months after which nutritious complementary foods can be introduced. Despite enough evidence that shows how non-breastfeeding leads to serious morbidity, increased mortality, as well as other adverse health impacts caused by artificial feeding, the UK's breastfeeding rates, are on the decline as the number of infants who breastfeed at 6-8 weeks reduced to 43 per cent in 2017/18 from 47 per cent in 2011/12. A review of major approaches that can be used to improve breastfeeding practices noted that various stakeholders such as National Health Service (NHS), midwives, healthcare works, including general practitioners, health visitors and, pregnant women as stakeholders who can be targeted in breastfeeding promotion campaigns. This paper examines the history of breastfeeding and level of political priority in the UK, the efforts, protocols and policies that focus on improving breastfeeding rates. The scope of this paper is not limited to relevant stakeholders and communication strategy where social marketing, training of healthcare workers, mass mobilization and counseling can be used in provision of coordinated care for improving breastfeeding outcomes and health models and theories which informs breastfeeding campaigns in UK but also evaluation of frameworks that can scale up communication, social mobilization and advocacy that improves breastfeeding practices.
Introduction
Mothers prioritized breastfeeding their babies until infancy during prehistoric times. Moreover, during the Renaissance period, paediatricians encouraged mothers to breastfeed their babies (Papastavrou et al., 2015, p.1). However, towards the end of the 18th century, panada, animal milk and pap emerged as new substitutes of breast milk (Papastavrou et al., 2015, p.1). For example, in 1892, Pierre Bud founded the Consultations de Nourissons, a welfare clinic that encouraged breastfeeding as well as the use of sterilized milk that was sealed in a bottle. This feeding style emerged as a movement, it spread rapidly to England and France and later reached other parts of the world. The first clinic in England that encouraged feeding of babies by a formula was set up in 1905 at Battersea Milk Depot (Papastavrou et al., 2015, p.7). Feeding babies by formula spread rapidly through 1913 until 1929 where large companies convinced parents and healthcare professionals that artificial feeding was the best and safest option for feeding babies. Gradually, formulas were improved by enriching them with metals and basic vitamins.
Breastfeeding decreased steadily in England in 1950s and 1960s. However, from the 1970s, breastfeeding programmes began to increase and the UK government has promoted the initiation, exclusivity and duration of breastfeeding ever since. Although breastfeeding rates are currently on the decline in some parts of the UK (UNICEF 2016), the government continues to adhere to WHO guidelines which recommend breastfeeding of infants’ up-to 6 months (Great Britain. Parliament House of Commons. Health Committee, 2005, p.73). The paper discusses the history of UK's government involvement in breastfeeding programmes, the current breastfeeding strategy, health theories and promotions which inform Start4Life Campaign, stakeholders in breastfeeding promotion and the roles they play, communication strategies that would be applied to engage and communicate with relevant stakeholders a plan of breastfeeding campaign, including evaluation frameworks.