Deprivation

Trends in breastfeeding by deprivation

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The exclusive breastfeeding rate at the 6-8 week health visitor review in the most deprived decile has increased gradually over recent years, rising from 11% in 2004/05-2006/7 to 19% in 2019/20-2021/22. The exclusive breastfeeding rate in the least deprived decile has fluctuated over the period, but rose to 59% in 2019/20-2021/22.

Notes

All babies are offered a health review approximately six to eight weeks following their birth. The Health Visitor notes whether the baby is still being exclusively breastfed, bottle fed formula or a mixture of both. The status is recorded in the Child Health Surveillance Programme, Pre-School. The figures shown are for those exclusively breastfed at the time of the visit. 

This page has was updated in March 2023, based on data requested from Public Health Scotland. It will be updated again when we have newer data.