Breastfeeding: how to increase prevalence.

Increasing breastfeeding prevalence is essential to reduce health inequalities and improve health outcomes for all mothers and babies. Evidence-based services need to be commissioned and developed in line with UNICEF's Baby Friendly Initiative Seven Point Plan, to ensure positive outcomes for breastfeeding. Support services offered early in the neonatal period can increase prevalence at 6-8 weeks of age and encourage longer-term breastfeeding, recommended by the World Health Organization and Department of Health. This article describes how an early intervention infant feeding service successfully supported mothers to continue breastfeeding and increased prevalence.