The Department today published the latest quarterly statistics on:
- breastfeeding initiation and prevalence at 6 to 8 weeks - Quarter 2, 2011/12
- smoking at delivery - Quarter 2, 2011/12
Key points:
The initiation rate was 74.1% in 2011/12 Quarter 2, a slight improvement on 2010/11 outturn (73.7%), 2009/10 outturn (72.7%) and 2008/09 outturn (71.7%).
The prevalence of breastfeeding at 6 to 8 weeks in 2011/12 Quarter 2 was 47.1% of all infants due a 6 to 8 weeks check, slightly higher than the figure of 46.
The percentage of mothers smoking at delivery in England was 13.1% in 2011/12 Quarter 2, lower than the 2010/11 outturn (13.5%), 2009/10 outturn (14.1%) and 2008/09 outturn (14.4%).