Meeting of the Parliament 23 January 2024
I am delighted to speak in today’s Scottish Government debate on celebrating and supporting breastfeeding. Breast milk is the perfect source of nutrition for babies, and I am lucky enough to have fed three babies. We will hear much about the health benefits.
In the middle ages, breast milk was deemed to possess magical qualities, and that was not far from the truth. The motion is right to welcome the rise in Scotland’s breastfeeding rates, the Scottish Government’s targeted investment of £9 million and the support from infant feeding teams and family nurse partnerships, which is beginning to address the stark inequalities that exist for some groups. However, we need much more than that—we need a radical shift in thinking and actions.
Ambition is key and, for the long term, we should aim to double the current breastfeeding rate so that 94 per cent instead of 47 per cent of babies are breastfeeding at six to eight weeks old. We should look for creative ways to inspire many more young women to successfully nurture their babies for the first six months of life with breast milk only, as is recommended by the World Health Organization. We must do more to tackle social attitudes towards breastfeeding mums of all ages, in the recognition that women’s breasts are first and foremost for nurturing children.
That is a huge challenge, but it should absolutely be our ambition, because breastfeeding rates in other countries demonstrate that achieving that is entirely possible, as we have heard. The Scottish Government has a commendable history of investing in children’s wellbeing—from the Scottish child payment to prenatal care and the 1,140 hours of early years education. The baby box initiative is also noteworthy, and I hope to hear, from the minister, more detail about its role in normalising breastfeeding.