Midwives concerned over decline in breastfeeding

Breastfeeding in Malta has dipped slightly, a factor worrying midwives as they mark the International Day of the Midwife today.

"It's not a big drop, but we were expecting rates to go up not down," said Helen Borg, a midwife who heads the Breastfeeding Clinic.

Ms Borg believes the hospital transition from St Luke's to Mater Dei could have led to this decline, since everybody was somewhat unsettled.

Figures from the National Obstetric Information System show a slight decrease in the first three quarters of last year, compared to the same period in 2006, and an increase in the number of mothers who fed their baby a mix of breast milk and formula.

In the first nine months of 2007, babies who were exclusively fed breast milk at the time of leaving hospital went down to 1,632 from 1,759, a decline steeper than the fall in the recorded number of babies at discharge.

Ms Borg also referred to the clinic's figures showing that of 405 mothers monitored for six months, some 50 per cent (200) said they stopped breastfeeding on the advice of health professionals with no evidence-based reason.

"This is even more worrying and highlights the need for more health professionals to be made aware of the benefits of breast milk for the child and support the mother," she said.

Louise Bugeja, Parent Craft Services coordinator, agreed, but pointed out that there was an increased interest in the subject. She had recently delivered a session on the subject to family doctors and the feedback was positive.

While breastfeeding nearly doubled in 10 years, Malta still scores second lowest in Europe with about 60 per cent of mothers breastfeeding newborns on discharge from hospital, wedged between Ireland, the lowest with 39 per cent, and the UK (69 per cent).

In 2000, Malta's breastfeeding policy laid down that health professionals had to work to attain the goal of 90 per cent, but the island is still wide off the mark.

Ms Borg feels midwives have to be better prepared while studying how to support breastfeeding mothers, while Ms Bugeja pointed out that in medical school students only had one hour dedicated to breastfeeding in the entire course.

"The fact we have started liaising with GPs is positive. Sometimes, doctors are faced with mothers wanting a solution and if they cannot help with breast milk they recommend formula because they can get a better idea of how much the baby is consuming. However, we can work to change the culture," Ms Bugeja said.

On the eve of the International Day of the Midwife, the two women are working to raise awareness among the 121 midwives at Mater Dei.

Ms Borg would eventually like to see Mater Dei become a baby-friendly hospital, where mothers who choose to breastfeed their baby are fully supported.

This would mean training staff, including doctors, in breastfeeding management and implementing a strong policy on the subject to go hand in hand with this practice.

"Everybody is now settling down and the layout of the new hospital offers greater privacy, so we're hoping to see breastfeeding figures go up in 2008," she said.