BBCThere has been an increase in the number of babies who are breastfed in Devon and Cornwall, new government figures reveal.
It is higher than the average for England, which is the highest since records began in 2015.
Overall in the two counties, around six in ten babies are still breastfed at around six to eight weeks old, according to recent figures from the Department of Health and Social Care.
The news has been welcomed by the National Childbirth Trust, a charity supporting parents which described the rise as “encouraging”.
‘Positive and encouraging’
In England, the number of babies breastfed at the six to eight week stage has risen from 52.7% in 2023/24 to 55.6% in 2024/25.
During the same period, the breastfeeding rates for Cornwall went up from 56.2% to 57.4% and in Devon, from 62.6% to 63%.
Breastfeeding counsellor for the National Childbirth Trust, Louise Oliver, said: “We know that there’s a large portion of parents who stopped breastfeeding before they wanted to.
“The fact that we’ve got these figures showing that rates are increasing is really positive and encouraging, and suggests that more parents are being supported to feed their babies.”
One of the mums who attends the NCT’s Bumps and Babies Busy Bee group at St Blazey Family Hub in Cornwall, Chloe Hartford, said support and information was key in her decision to continue breastfeeding her son.
She said: “I stopped so early with my daughter I regretted it and the second time I was like “nope, I’m not going to let anyone put me off breastfeeding and I just kept with it”.”
Another mum, Abigail Smith, whose first child was fully breastfed, took a different approach with her twins.
She explained: “They were born slightly early so my milk didn’t come in in time…
“We started using formula because that was the easiest way to get food into them.”
She added that she now takes a mixed approach using both breastfeeding and bottle feeding to cope.
The government said it had invested £18.5m this year in infant feeding support through family hubs and its Start For Life programme.
In addition, The National Breastfeeding helpline is open 24 hours a day.
It is run with the Breastfeeding Partnership and Association of Breastfeeding Mothers and is funded by the Department of Health and Social Care and the Scottish Government.
