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. 1994 Mar 26;308(6932):824-5.
doi: 10.1136/bmj.308.6932.824.

Breast feeding in Scotland

A E Ferguson  1 , D M Tappin, R W Girdwood, R Kennedy, F Cockburn
Affiliations

Breast feeding in Scotland

A E Ferguson et al. BMJ. .

Abstract

Objective: To measure the prevalence of breast feeding and to examine the value of using information collected on Guthrie cards (used for detecting inherited metabolic disease and hypothyroidism when newborn infants are 7 days old) to calculate this prevalence.

Design: Analysis, by geographical area and maternity unit, of information on breast feeding collected on Guthrie cards for 131,759 babies born in 1990 and 1991, and comparison with prevalences from other sources.

Setting: Scotland.

Results: Of the 131,759 babies, only 46,949 (35.6%) were breast feeding on day 7. The prevalence of breast feeding ranged from 59.1% (376/636) in Shetland to 21.1% (1836/8719) in Lanarkshire and < 8% in some postcode districts of cities. Analysis of the data by hospital of birth showed that the prevalence ranged from 51.2% (2701/5275) to 16.4% (507/3090).

Conclusion: The prevalence of breast feeding in Scotland is low and varies among areas and maternity units. Intervention to increase this prevalence is essential, and information collected on Guthrie cards is a useful indication of mothers' intentions to breast feed.

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