Breastfeeding is a very personal thing and every woman with a child has her own story about why she breastfeeds, why she stopped breastfeeding or why she formula fed from the start.
My story begins years before I even fell pregnant, when my, (then boyfriend), husband and I were discussing having children in the future. I just knew that when the time came, I wanted to feed my child myself. After all, breast is best, right?!
As both a mother and Social Sciences student, I have found the State of Child Health Report 2017, which was published today, concerning. Poverty in the UK and how it affects the issue of children’s health is something I have been studying this academic year and found very interesting.
Although it’s encouraging to read that we are better than the US, how and why is it that we are worse than a lot of other European countries? We have the fifth highest rate of infant mortality in Europe which is extremely worrying and this is much higher in deprived socio-economic groups. As I glance at Autumn asleep peacefully next to me, I feel quite angry that not more is being done to prevent these small, beautiful, innocent babies from dying.