The World Health Organisation (WHO) aims to increase the number of babies who are exclusively breastfed for the first six months of life to 60% by 2030. Breastfeeding benefits both mother and baby, helping to protect against infections as well as longer-term conditions including obesity, diabetes, some cancers and heart disease. Supporting more families to breastfeed could save the NHS up to £50 million each year as well as reduce hospital admissions and GP consultations (Unicef UK, 2026).
Locally, more than 90% of mothers start breastfeeding after birth, but fewer than 40% of babies in the South East are still breastfeeding at their six-to-eight-week review. Our aim is to help families continue breastfeeding for as long as they wish, rather than stopping before they are ready.
This year's World Breastfeeding Week theme, ‘Strengthen what works’, encourages us to build on existing successes. At Ashford and St Peter's Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, we follow the WHO ten steps to successful breastfeeding and are proud to hold UNICEF UK Baby Friendly Initiative (BFI) accreditation for both maternity and neonatal services. In 2026, we are extending Baby Friendly standards across the wider hospital, supported by our BFI Guardian and Chief Nursing Officer, Jay Dungeni, enabling staff in all departments to promote, support and protect breastfeeding. This includes supporting breastfeeding mothers attending outpatient appointments, the emergency department, undergoing procedures, or returning to work after maternity leave.
We would also like to thank Lisa Andrews, Public Health Principal and BFI Guardian for East and West Surrey, for helping to strengthen collaboration between maternity, neonatal and community services across Surrey. As a result, we have already combined two feeding support clinics in Egham and Woking, creating a smoother transition between maternity and health visiting services and improving support for local families.
