Public Expenditure on Health and Personal Social Services 2009 - Health Committee Contents

8.  PSA AND DSO PERFORMANCE

8.1.19  Can the Department supply provisional data on prevalence of breastfeeding at age 6-8-weeks by PCT for the first three quarters of 2008-09, and any more recent data on this that are available (PSA indicator 12.1/DSO indicator 1.16)? How does the Department explain the extremely large variance in prevalence between PCTs (ranging from 13% to 78%), as noted in the Departmental Report 2009 (p. 253), and what is being done to reduce this? (Q110)

Answer

  1.  The information requested is given in table 110.

  2.  Patterns of ethnicity, socio-economic factors, and educational attainment, as well as localised improvements in the standard of care and support offered to breastfeeding mothers, all impact on breastfeeding prevalence. This leads to wide regional and interregional variation in breastfeeding rates.

  3.  More affluent PCTs are likely to have higher breastfeeding rates than PCTs with greater proportions of young families and/or a lower socio-economic status. Breastfeeding is an indicator of health inequalities, with initiation and prevalence rates being particularly low for disadvantaged white women, particularly teenage women, and lone parents. For lone parents and teenage mothers, maternal ethnic origin and educational attainment are even more strongly associated with inequalities in breastfeeding initiation than socio-economic status. The women who are least likely to start breastfeeding also have a faster drop off rate. Studies indicated that, by week six, 68% of women who stayed in education past the age of 16 were still breastfeeding compared with 27% who left education at 16 or younger.

  4.  Women from black and minority ethnic cultures are more likely to at least partially breastfeed, though rates of exclusive breastfeeding are generally lower for Asian and African mothers than for white mothers. The influence of the community has also been shown to be important for breastfeeding practices. For example, white lone mothers are more likely to start breastfeeding if resident in areas with a predominantly ethnic minority community, indicating a peer influence of living in a community with high breastfeeding prevalence. For every additional five years living in the UK, black and minority ethnic mothers are 5% less likely to breastfeed for at least four months.

Table 110

INFANTS BEING BREASTFED AT 6 TO 8 WEEKS AS A PERCENTAGE OF ALL THOSE DUE A CHECK

Organisation code	Organisation name	2008-09 Quarter 1	2008-09 Quarter 2	2008-09 Quarter 3	2008-09 Quarter 4
5ND	County Durham PCT	23.0%	26.7%	26.6%	25.1%
5J9	Darlington PCT	35.7%	31.9%	32.9%	34.0%
5KF	Gateshead PCT
5D9	Hartlepool PCT	19.9%	19.9%	19.1%	18.1%
5KM	Middlesbrough PCT			24.6%	25.8%
5D7	Newcastle PCT	33.9%			45.9%
5E1	North Tees PCT			28.5%	25.0%
5D8	North Tyneside PCT	37.9%	37.8%		38.3%
TAC	Northumberland Care Trust		43.7%	41.0%
5QR	Redcar And Cleveland PCT				21.1%
5KG	South Tyneside PCT
5KL	Sunderland Teaching PCT
5HG	Ashton, Leigh And Wigan PCT	18.5%	15.2%	13.4%	14.7%
5CC	Blackburn With Darwen PCT
5HP	Blackpool PCT	16.1%	18.7%	21.9%	21.4%
5HQ	Bolton PCT
5JX	Bury PCT
5NP	Central And Eastern Cheshire PCT	34.7%	34.7%		36.7%
5NG	Central Lancashire PCT	32.9%	36.7%	37.1%	30.5%
5NE	Cumbria PCT				31.9%
5NH	East Lancashire PCT	31.2%	41.6%	41.1%	41.6%
5NM	Halton And St Helens PCT	19.3%	12.1%	17.3%	16.6%
5NQ	Heywood, Middleton And Rochdale PCT				32.8%
5J4	Knowsley PCT	16.9%	11.7%	13.0%	12.8%
5NL	Liverpool PCT		21.4%	23.2%	25.7%
5NT	Manchester PCT
5NF	North Lancashire PCT		32.7%	29.7%	28.0%
5J5	Oldham PCT
5F5	Salford PCT
5NJ	Sefton PCT			29.7%	27.8%
5F7	Stockport PCT			45.5%	56.0%
5LH	Tameside And Glossop PCT	22.8%	25.3%	32.7%	32.3%
5NR	Trafford PCT	52.0%	52.4%	52.5%	50.3%
5J2	Warrington PCT	12.1%
5NN	Western Cheshire PCT
5NK	Wirral PCT	27.2%	28.9%	27.1%	28.9%
5JE	Barnsley PCT		29.5%	30.7%	33.4%
5NY	Bradford And Airedale PCT	45.3%	51.1%	47.9%	44.4%
5J6	Calderdale PCT	35.5%	41.7%	37.9%
5N5	Doncaster PCT
5NW	East Riding Of Yorkshire PCT	38.8%	42.0%	44.1%	40.6%
5NX	Hull PCT		34.2%	32.4%
5N2	Kirklees PCT
5N1	Leeds PCT	48.5%	46.2%	42.8%	41.0%
TAN	North East Lincolnshire PCT
5EF	North Lincolnshire PCT	21.8%	27.6%	33.9%	28.5%
5NV	North Yorkshire And York PCT
5H8	Rotherham PCT
5N4	Sheffield PCT				44.9%
5N3	Wakefield District PCT		30.1%	32.8%	34.3%
5ET	Bassetlaw PCT				26.1%
5N7	Derby City PCT			39.0%	32.2%
5N6	Derbyshire County PCT	40.6%	47.1%	42.1%	45.2%
5PC	Leicester City PCT				46.7%
5PA	Leicestershire County And Rutland PCT				40.7%
5N9	Lincolnshire PCT	39.8%	40.0%		40.4%
5PD	Northamptonshire PCT			44.4%	44.3%
5EM	Nottingham City PCT	39.7%	38.8%	40.4%	42.0%
5N8	Nottinghamshire County PCT	39.3%
5PG	Birmingham East And North PCT
5MD	Coventry Teaching PCT
5PE	Dudley PCT				28.6%
5MX	Heart Of Birmingham Teaching PCT
5CN	Herefordshire PCT	51.1%	50.6%	52.0%	49.1%
5PH	North Staffordshire PCT	31.4%
5PF	Sandwell PCT
5M2	Shropshire County PCT	41.5%	42.5%		40.5%
TAM	Solihull Care Trust
5M1	South Birmingham PCT	40.4%	44.7%	42.8%	35.5%
5PK	South Staffordshire PCT			33.4%	32.2%
5PJ	Stoke On Trent PCT	27.3%	24.4%		24.3%
5MK	Telford And Wrekin PCT	33.0%	32.8%		33.3%
5M3	Walsall Teaching PCT	24.9%
5PM	Warwickshire PCT				43.6%
5MV	Wolverhampton City PCT			33.0%	34.5%
5PL	Worcestershire PCT			40.2%
5P2	Bedfordshire PCT	41.2%			44.7%
5PP	Cambridgeshire PCT
5P3	East And North Hertfordshire PCT
5PR	Great Yarmouth And Waveney PCT	38.6%	30.5%	36.6%	33.8%
5GC	Luton PCT				47.8%
5PX	Mid Essex PCT		51.2%	50.0%	50.9%
5PQ	Norfolk PCT	48.2%
5PW	North East Essex PCT	44.3%	46.0%	42.6%	45.9%
5PN	Peterborough PCT			55.4%	44.5%
5P1	South East Essex PCT	52.6%	52.0%	39.9%	37.7%
5PY	South West Essex PCT
5PT	Suffolk PCT	37.7%	23.1%	47.3%	42.7%
5PV	West Essex PCT
5P4	West Hertfordshire PCT
5C2	Barking And Dagenham PCT
5A9	Barnet PCT				60.6%
TAK	Bexley Care Trust
5K5	Brent Teaching PCT
5A7	Bromley PCT
5K7	Camden PCT	81.3%			75.2%
5C3	City And Hackney Teaching PCT			70.0%	71.1%
5K9	Croydon PCT	52.0%	51.2%	62.1%	64.5%
5HX	Ealing PCT
5C1	Enfield PCT				60.4%
5A8	Greenwich Teaching PCT				58.2%
5H1	Hammersmith And Fulham PCT	65.2%	70.8%	81.4%	75.6%
5C9	Haringey Teaching PCT	62.0%			65.9%
5K6	Harrow PCT				63.5%
5A4	Havering PCT
5AT	Hillingdon PCT		54.4%	50.3%	49.9%
5HY	Hounslow PCT
5K8	Islington PCT
5LA	Kensington And Chelsea PCT	76.0%	80.8%	78.2%	79.4%
5A5	Kingston PCT	74.9%	74.8%	74.5%	81.5%
5LD	Lambeth PCT				83.1%
5LF	Lewisham PCT	68.5%	63.7%	71.8%	66.6%
5C5	Newham PCT
5NA	Redbridge PCT				58.9%
5M6	Richmond And Twickenham PCT				70.6%
5LE	Southwark PCT	53.8%			68.4%
5M7	Sutton And Merton PCT
5C4	Tower Hamlets PCT				62.8%
5NC	Waltham Forest PCT
5LG	Wandsworth PCT	74.8%	78.6%	76.7%	71.0%
5LC	Westminster PCT		76.8%	78.7%	75.7%
5LQ	Brighton And Hove City PCT			66.9%	71.0%
5P7	East Sussex Downs And Weald PCT				50.1%
5QA	Eastern And Coastal Kent PCT
5P8	Hastings And Rother PCT
5L3	Medway PCT
5P5	Surrey PCT
5P9	West Kent PCT				42.6%
5P6	West Sussex PCT
5QG	Berkshire East PCT			53.5%
5QF	Berkshire West PCT
5QD	Buckinghamshire PCT	53.0%	75.0%	66.0%	60.3%
5QC	Hampshire PCT
5QT	Isle Of Wight NHS Pct	45.5%	43.1%	40.4%	44.1%
5CQ	Milton Keynes PCT		52.7%	57.9%	51.4%
5QE	Oxfordshire PCT	65.1%	53.6%	51.4%	60.8%
5FE	Portsmouth City Teaching PCT		41.3%	42.4%	40.0%
5L1	Southampton City PCT		45.8%
5FL	Bath And North East Somerset PCT				49.5%
5QN	Bournemouth And Poole PCT	45.7%	47.9%	47.4%	50.1%
5QJ	Bristol PCT	50.4%	49.3%	48.6%	50.7%
5QP	Cornwall And Isles Of Scilly PCT
5QQ	Devon PCT				47.1%
5QM	Dorset PCT	51.9%	56.8%		55.6%
5QH	Gloucestershire PCT			38.5%	38.9%
5M8	North Somerset PCT	42.8%	39.3%	44.4%	44.1%
5F1	Plymouth Teaching PCT
5QL	Somerset PCT	44.6%	48.6%	43.2%	47.0%
5A3	South Gloucestershire PCT	44.9%	45.2%	48.6%	44.0%
5K3	Swindon PCT				40.1%
TAL	Torbay Care Trust		32.5%	28.9%	35.7%
5QK	Wiltshire PCT
Source:
Health Improvement Analytical Team, DH (Vital Signs Monitoring Return (VSMR)).
Footnotes:
1.  Blank cells indicate that figure has been suppressed due to data quality concerns because the number of infants whose breastfeeding status was recorded was less than 85% of the number of infants due a check or because the information supplied did not tally with other, published information.

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Prepared 20 January 2010