Children's health 0 to 19
The Children’s Health Service supports the delivery of the Healthy Child Programme. The programme support families to ensure their children grow up to be healthy, safe and able to achieve their potential. The service provides strong universal provision from the antenatal period to when the child is aged six years and a targeted service to the school aged population. Early intervention and prevention are key to ensuring effective and efficient services and support the reduction in health inequalities across Lincolnshire.
In the year April 2022 to March 2023, the service had a total of 68,129 children and adults open to receive care.
Breastfeeding
There is strong evidence that breastfeeding protects the health of babies and mothers both in the short and long term.
Breast and combined breast and supplement (e.g. infant formula) status is recorded by the health visitor at the infant’s six to eight week review. In this period, 2755 (43.6%) infants were fully or partially breastfed. 3569 (56.4%) were supplement fed only.
| Ethnicity | Count of breast or breast and supplement fed infants | Count of NHS number | Percentage breast of breast and supplement fed at six weeks |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 2,306 | 5,650 | 40.8% |
| Mixed ethnicity | 114 | 191 | 59.7% |
| Asian | 107 | 129 | 82.9% |
| Black | 83 | 102 | 81.4% |
| Other | 127 | 208 | 61.1% |
| Not stated | 18 | 44 | 40.9% |
| Grand total | 2,755 | 6,324 | 43.6% |
Breastfeeding groups are delivered within children centre’s across Lincolnshire and are open to all breastfeeding mothers. These groups offer professional advice/guidance and peer support to assist mothers in their breastfeeding experience and journey.
Breastfeeding group attendance in the year April 2022 to March 2023
| Ethnicity | Number of infants | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| White British | 815 | 88.68% |
| Other white background | 40 | 4.35% |
| Asian or black | 30 | 3.25% |
| Mixed ethnicity | 14 | 1.52% |
| Other ethnicity | 14 | 1.52% |
| Not stated | 6 | 0.65% |
| Total | 919 | 100% |
The breastfeeding data shows that white British have lower rates for breastfeeding or breast and supplement fed at 6-8 weeks (40.8%), whereas other ethnicities equate to 65.6%, with black and south Asian being the most likely to breastfeed or breast and supplement feed their babies. However, white British mothers are most likely to attend the breastfeeding groups seeking support and guidance with breastfeeding. Lincolnshire County Council is currently leading the development of a collaborative infant feeding strategy for Lincolnshire with a view to improving breastfeeding rates across the county.