Infant feeding statistics
Financial year 2023 to 2024

About this release

This annual release from Public Health Scotland (PHS) provides an update of infant feeding statistics including data for children eligible for child health reviews in the financial year 2023/24.
Supporting breastfeeding is an important public health activity, with strong evidence that breastfeeding protects the health of children and mothers. The information is collected at Health Visitor reviews of children at 10-14 days (First Visit), 6-8 weeks, and 13-15 months of age.

Main points

• More than two thirds (68%) of babies reviewed in Scotland in 2023/24 were breastfed for at least some time after their birth.
• In 2023/24, of babies reviewed at 6-8 weeks, 33% were exclusively breastfed, 16% mixed breast and formula fed and 51% formula fed.
• Increases in breastfeeding over the past 10 years have been greatest among those groups with historically lower rates, such as younger women and those living in more deprived areas. This means inequalities in breastfeeding have reduced over time.

Line chart showing breastfeeding (exclusive or mixed) at 6-8 week review by deprivation level, 2002/03-2023/24

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Breastfeeding (exclusive or mixed) at 6-8 week review by deprivation* level

* For more information on SIMD (Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation) please visit the PHS website

• Over the past 10 years the proportion of babies receiving some breastfeeding has increased at both First Visit (59% in 2023/24) and 6-8 week reviews (49% in 2023/24). There have been increases both in the proportion of babies receiving mixed formula and breastfeeding and in those being exclusively breastfed.
• In 2023/24, 85% of babies had been introduced to solid food at six months of age or older. Less than 1% had been started on solids at less than four months of age.
• Babies of White Scottish ethnicity were much less likely to be breastfed than any other ethnicity, although there have been small increases in breastfeeding in this group.

Background

Breastfeeding provides the best nutrition for babies and young children. It supports children’s health in the short and longer term, including through reduced risk of infections, and also benefits mothers’ health, including through reducing the risk of breast and ovarian cancer. Current guidance recommends that babies receive just breast milk for the first 6 months of life, then, after introduction of solid foods, should continue to breastfeed up to at least their second birthday.

Improving breastfeeding rates in Scotland would help to improve the health of babies and mothers, and reduce inequalities in health. There is good evidence that interventions can work to improve breastfeeding rates. These include ensuring good quality of breastfeeding support for mothers, as well as wider interventions, such as influencing public attitudes to breastfeeding, restricting the inappropriate promotion of formula milk, and ensuring supportive employment policies.

Further information

Open data from this publication is available from the Scottish Health and Social Care Open Data portal.

The next release of this publication will be November 2024.