WHEN it comes to having a baby there are many choices to be made. These decisions can include; what type of pram to have, what brand of nappies to use and what birth plan to put in place. Amongst these questions that shape the start of a baby’s life is the choice of infant feeding with local support available to help ‘mums to be’ make an informed choice about breast or artificial feeding.

The Healthy Living Network works hard to raise the profile of breastfeeding with mums to be by explaining the advice and support that is available to them from their midwives and health visitors across the Borders.

NHS Borders and Scottish Borders Council, Joint Health Improvement Team has been set a local challenge to increase the number of Border babies who are exclusively breastfed for the first 6-8 weeks. In 2012/13 one in three babies born in the Borders was exclusively breastfed until 6 – 8 week old. The local challenge that has been set by NHS Borders is to increase this to one in two babies born by March 2016.

To help achieve this challenge, the Joint Health Improvement Team has started to introduce numerous initiatives to locally support and encourage breastfeeding in the Borders. A whole town approach has been agreed and will help target towns and communities that may require additional breastfeeding support.

“To achieve this will not be easy” said Dr Eric Baijal, Joint Director of Public Health for NHS Borders and Scottish Borders Council, “however by targeting whole communities on an individual basis we can help focus the local support needed to see a shift in behavior.” One of the first communities to be selected to test the whole town approach is Selkirk, and the next innovative event that is taking place is a Pop up Shop to advertise, educate and inform Selkirk community of the healthy lifestyle choices regarding infant feeding. The pop up shop will be open on Tuesday 31 March 2015 at 1 Tower Street, Selkirk between 10.00 am -2.00 pm and will focus on infant feeding choices..

For more information on why breastfeeding is best for you and your baby visit www.nhsborders.scot.nhs.uk.