The NSW Health Breastfeeding Project

Abstract

The NSW Health Breastfeeding Project was set up in 2003 as a result of a growing emphasis in government policy on the importance of increasing breastfeeding rates. Encouraging more women to breastfeed their babies and to do so for longer are goals of Eat well NSW: strategic directions for public health nutrition 2003–2007 and of The prevention of obesity in children and young people: NSW Government Action Plan 2003–2007. A commitment to support and promote breastfeeding is also congruent with NSW Health's commitment to equity, as mothers who are young, single, indigenous, living in poorer areas, without post school qualifications or born in countries other than Australia, Oceania, Europe or America are less likely to breastfeed. In response to these goals, the Nutrition and Physical Activity Branch of NSW Health is leading the NSW Health Breastfeeding Project over three years (2003–2006) and working in close consultation with health sector stakeholders.