UK adopts new growth charts based on breast-fed babies
May 7, 2009 at 3:55 pm 1 comment
New growth charts have been launched for National Breastfeeding Awareness Week. As of early May, all newborn babies and children up to four years old will have their growth measurements plotted on new charts. The launch of the charts, which have been developed for the Department of Health (DH) by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH), based on the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) work, coincides with National Breastfeeding Awareness Week (10 – 16 May) and replaces current measures which are based predominately on babies fed with formula milk.
Research shows that breast-fed babies tend to gain weight at a healthier pace and are less likely to become obese in later life. The new charts will play an important role in establishing breastfeeding as the norm and will be included in the Personal Child Health Records, which parents of every newborn are given. They will help parents and healthcare professionals identify children at early risk of obesity and provide important reassurance for parents of breast-fed babies, who are likely to gain weight more slowly.
The new charts include parent-friendly instructions and a chart specifically for premature babies. As babies can lose and gain weight at different rates between birth and two weeks, it is recommended that they are weighed at 3-4 days but the weight is not plotted on the chart. The charts also help make more reliable predictions of a child’s adult height.
The charts and supporting educational materials can be viewed on http://www.rcpch.ac.uk.
The charts replace the current UK90 charts. Other features of the revised Personal Child Health Record include information on the Healthy Child Programme and information on new one year and two to two and a half year reviews, as well as on breast-feeding support services.
The DH recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months (26 weeks) of an infant’s life, as breast milk provides all the nutrients a baby needs at this time. Breastfeeding (and/or breastmilk substitutes, if used) should continue beyond the first six months along with appropriate types and amounts of solid foods
Research indicates breastmilk helps protect babies from infection and diseases such as gastro-intestinal infections, ear infections, urine infections, eczema and obesity in later childhood. Healthy Weight, Healthy Lives: A Cross-Government Strategy for England aims to reverse the rise in childhood obesity, and breastfeeding plays an integral role in this. Breastfeeding also provides health benefits for mothers. It can help them to return to pre-pregnancy weight and can reduce the risk of ovarian cancer and breast cancer later in life.
In England, 78% of mothers initiate breastfeeding and only 22% are still breastfeeding at 6 months. Initiation rates for many other European countries are much higher: Norway: 99%; Denmark: 98%; Sweden: 97.7%; Switzerland: 94%; Austria: 93%; Italy: 91%; Spain: 84.2%, whilst France, Ireland and Germany have lower rates than England Germany: 77.8%; France: 69%; Ireland: 53%.
In addition to the support offered by healthcare professionals, the DH provides the National Breastfeeding Helpline 0300 100 0212, which mums can call and speak to a trained breastfeeding volunteer in their local area. The DH also provides a free DVD ‘From bump to breastfeeding – following real mothers’ stories to find out how’, available to all pregnant women and distributed by midwives and health visitors. For more information visit http://www.breastfeeding.nhs.uk
The growth charts form part of the DH’s long term commitment to increasing breastfeeding rates in England. Last year the DH announced £4 million extra funding to help support hospitals in disadvantaged areas to achieve Unicef Baby-Friendly Status, a set of best practice standards for maternity units and community services on improving practice to promote, protect and support breastfeeding
Entry filed under: Babyfeeding, England, Northern Ireland, Parliamentary update, Scotland, Wales. Tags: Breastfeeding Awareness week, childhood obesity, follow-on formula, formula, Formula milk, growth charts, Healthy Start, infant formula, NCT, WHO.
NCT Watch 
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Belinda Phipps, NCT | May 7, 2009 at 3:57 pm
The NCT today warmly welcomes the UK’s Department of Health’s announcement that they will be adopting new growth charts for children aged 0-4 years. Unlike current charts, the new growth charts are based only on babies who have been breastfeed and whose mothers do not smoke. Previously the UK charts were based on a mixed sample of babies, of whom the majority were formula fed, after the first few months, leading to increased average weight curves.
The NCT has been campaigning for this change for years and so we are delighted that the Department of Health has adopted these new growth charts.
Now that the new charts have been introduced, the next extremely important step is for health professionals to be appropriately trained on how to work with them in order to ensure parents are given the correct information about their child’s weight.
The previous charts in the UK have not adequately reflected the weight babies will be if they are exclusively breastfed. As a result, some breastfeeding mothers have been misinformed and have been advised to use formula milk or introduce solids as a ‘top up’ as their baby is not gaining weight fast enough. The introduction of formula milk or solids too early can interrupt breastfeeding and often brings it to an end earlier