Agenda item

To receive an advance report from the Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Public Health and the Interim Director of Public Health on future plans to tender for a community infant feeding service.  A further report will be made to the 9 July meeting, at which the Committee will have the opportunity to either endorse or make recommendations to the Cabinet Member  on the proposed tender.

Mr M Gilbert, Commissioning and Performance Manager, was in attendance for this item.

1.            Mr Gilbert introduced the report and explained that the proposal to tender for a community infant feeding service had come partly from a review which had shown that the prevalence of breastfeeding in Kent was below the national average.  Tendering for the service would commence shortly and a further report made to this Committee in July, at which time the Committee would be able to comment and either endorse or make a recommendations to the Cabinet Member on the award of a contract. During discussion, Members made the following comments:-

a)    It would be easier to monitor progress on breastfeeding if clear statistics were available on current patterns and target rates. Increasing breastfeeding activity would rely on sufficient staffing and resourcing to promote and support initiatives;

b)    Breastfeeding was difficult for some mothers to achieve, and to persevere through the first few days often took intensive support from hospital nurses. Without this early support, many mothers would give up;

c)    Advice and guidance given to mothers, eg about how and when to wean a child, was often confusing.  Mothers were previously advised to breastfeed for one year; 

d)    attitudes to breastfeeding in public needed to be addressed, and acceptance and even ‘championing’ of breastfeeding at leisure venues promoted. If premises were to display a sticker in their window, parents could be confident that they would be able to breastfeed there, and others using the premises would know they would not have grounds to complain; and

e)    mothers who found they could not breastfeed successfully, and those who did not wish to breastfeed, should not be overlooked and should be supported.

2.            Mr Scott-Clark explained that data would be gathered from GPs and would measure two phases; firstly, how many mothers started to breastfeed, and secondly, how many were still doing so 6 to 8 weeks later. He agreed that support for new nursing mothers needed to be consistent, and the right people needed to be targeted at the right time. He confirmed that a budget to support the initiative had been identified.

3.            The Cabinet Member, Mrs Whittle, supported the comment made about the need for sufficient support and clear targets to allow progress to be measured.  Most new mothers now stayed in hospital for a very short period of time, if at all, so were not able to have the 7 to 10 days of nursing support that had helped previous generations of mothers.  She said that health visitors were geared up to supporting mothers at home, and suggested that a scheme of peer mentors could also support new mothers to breastfeed successfully. A campaign to raise public awareness and acceptance could make use of social media, and premises could be encouraged to advertise themselves as being ‘breastfeeding friendly’.  She undertook to take forward this initiative.  Mr Scott-Clark added that some premises had won an award for their facilities for young parents, and the media publicity that such an award would attract would boost custom and increase takings.

4.            RESOLVED that:-

a)    The proposed new service model and commissioning arrangements for infant feeding services in Kent be endorsed;

b)    a further report be made to the Committee’s July meeting, at which time the Committee would be able to comment and either endorse or make a recommendation to the Cabinet Member on the award of contract; and

c)    figures for breastfeeding, in two phases – initiation and at 6 – 8 weeks - as set out by Mr Scott-Clark in paragraph 2 above, be reported to future meetings of the Committee as part of the regular public health performance dashboard report.