The Breastfeeding Manifesto, which calls on MPs to take action to promote and protect breastfeeding in the UK, was launched on Wednesday 16th May as part of National Breastfeeding Awareness Week. The Manifesto is supported by a Coalition of over 30 organisations, including UNICEF UK. Representatives from the Coalition spent the morning at the House of Commons with parliamentarians, journalists and UNICEF UK Ambassador Jemima Khan. The aim was to encourage as many MPs as possible to sign up to the Manifesto’s seven key objectives which support women who choose to breastfeed. These objectives include implementing the NICE postnatal care guidance for maternity care providers ensuring the Baby Friendly Initiative becomes a minimum standard in all hospitals and in the community, improving training for health professionals, and introducing legislation to support breastfeeding in public places.

Speaking at the launch, Jemima Khan said: ‘Less than half of babies in the UK are receiving any breastmilk at all at six weeks old - way short of the World Health Organisation recommendation that babies should be exclusively breastfed for six months. The UNICEF UK Baby Friendly Initiative is working with the health service so mothers understand more about breastfeeding and are enabled to breastfeed if they wish to. This is a vitally important health issue and we need commitment and resourcing from Government to ensure all hospital and community staff receive the right level of training.’

The launch was followed by an evening event attended by MPs, Coalition members, Miss Manchester and Arsenal player Theo Walcott, whose mother was a breastfeeding advisor. David Kidney (Labour MP for Stafford) and Prof Mary Renfrew (Professor of Mother and Infant Health at the University of York) both gave speeches calling on the government to implement legislation supporting and protecting breastfeeding mothers. However Caroline Flint (Minister of State for Public Health) emphasised that is should be employers who lead the way, by creating suitable policies to allow women returning to work to continue breastfeeding.

To date, 231 Parliamentarians have added their support to the Manifesto. Please visit the links below to lobby your MP to sign up and to show your support for the Manifesto.