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From bump to breastfeeding

Our groundbreaking DVD From Bump to Breastfeeding: following real mothers' stories to find out how is being given free across the UK to pregnant women by their midwife.

Click here to watch the DVD and here to order it.

The DVD was launched in November 2008 and over 600,000 copies are distributed every year to support pregnant women.

The health benefits of breastfeeding to mother and child are huge.
Research shows that breastfeeding is extremely important in infant nutrition:

Breastfeeding is a natural safety net against the worst effects that child poverty has on health and yet, despite government and WHO recommendations, less than 2% of UK mothers exclusively breastfeed to six months.
Nine out of ten women who have stopped breastfeeding before six months wished they could have carried on for longer. Many say they stopped because of a lack of information and support.
There are huge inequalities in the area of infant nutrition with families from lower socio-economic groups being significantly less likely to start or continue breastfeeding. For example, 86% of six-week-old babies born to mothers under 20 years old are not receiving any breastmilk.
A breastfed baby is five times less likely to end up in hospital with gastroenteritis than a formula fed baby.

Background information

Without the necessary advice and support many women suffer significant pain when breastfeeding, both physical and emotional, before they stop. Our DVD shows parents how to get started breastfeeding and provide practical answers to the common problems.

Alison Baum, CEO of Best Beginnings, says: “Many poor health outcomes stem from the care, nutrition and environmental factors that impact us from the time of conception to age of three. One of the best ways to improve the health of those facing greatest disadvantage is to ensure we reach parents within this critical time frame. There are a number of health gaps we will focus on, however, as a small charity with a UK wide mission we chose to focus on breastfeeding in our first three years. There’s no doubt that breastfeeding has a significant role to play in closing the health gap.”

Breastfeeding lends immunity from the mother – while the baby’s own immune system starts to adapt and develop. As baby grows the constituents of the breast milk alter to mirror the baby’s needs. Nature doesn’t have a fixed formula – it responds to the changing needs of the infant and works in harmony with the baby’s development. Thus, “Infants who are not breastfed, for whatever reason” advises the World Health Organisation “should receive special attention from the health and social welfare system since they constitute a risk group.”

Yet the risks are not reflected by the numbers of mums breastfeeding in the UK – we have one of the lowest breastfeeding rates in Europe.

The evidence is compelling. Breastfed babies from younger and poorer families have health outcomes better than or similar to formula fed children in the wealthiest group. Not only does breastfeeding lower the risk of childhood obesity and diabetes, it also lowers the risk of life threatening gastrointestinal and respiratory illnesses. And it keeps on giving protection – by lowering risk of cardiovascular disease in later life and helping to prevent babies losing their mothers to breast cancer.

But the reality is that most parents don’t get vital information and support to start breastfeeding or to continue as long as they wish. Without the necessary advice and support many mums suffer significant pain, both physical and emotional, before they stop.

So Best Beginnings has produced the UK’s first DVD on breastfeeding to be distributed free to expectant parents. These films put accurate and practical breastfeeding information straight into the hands of parents who otherwise might never become or continue as breastfeeding families.