Alan Johnson, Health secretary, Live webchat here on Weds 16th April 12.20-1.15

[carriemumsnet]

Alan Johnson, Labour's Secretary of State for Health, will be here on Weds to answer your questions about the NHS. He's happy to talk about anything health -policy related, but some of the topics he's specifically covering during "health week" are: access to NHS services, hospital cleanliness, midwife provision, and a "personal" NHS offering maximum choice and control over the services they use.

As always, those of you who can't make it on the day can post your questions in advance here. Or grab a sarnie (healthy of course ) on Weds lunchtime and come and pose your questions in person.

More than three quaters of mums breastfeed?? Would you share for how long that is and the report that comes from?

Can someone tell me how you do the live bit?

Yes GH I was thinking the same. Isn't it something like 3/4 of mums leave hospital BF'ing? How many mums do that but then give up within 2 weeks? I know lots.

He should be quoting how many are breastfeeding to the 6 months as that is the government's recommendation. All GPS have a record at the 4 month vaccination appointment of how the baby is being fed he could use that then he can see the real sorry state of breastfeeding rates in the UK. Arrgggghhhhhh.

From the latest infant feedint survey:

78% start bfing.
At 1 week this drops to 63%, at 6 weeks 48%, and 6 months 25%.

At 6 months, less than 1% are exclusively bfing.

On the support boards here, we hear time and time again about the lack of community support to keep bfing exclusively, and about HCPs who give advice directly against the national and international recommendations to bf exclusively to 6 months, and to continue bfing to 2 years or beyond. We also hear that HVs have no obligation to keep up to date with breastfeeding advice, and so continue to give information that they received 20 years or more ago.

Why is it that we are encouraged to have regular dental check-ups, but not regular health check-ups? Surely an annual / bi-annual check up for weight, blood pressure, cholesterol etc would flag up problems early and save money in the long run.

rofl at Cod. Perhaps he'll get the top NHS honcho on the blower to you immediately cod?

will you point those figures out again in 20 mins cmotdibbler - I doubt he's gonna actually read the thread! He'll have minions picking the questions I imagine...

I've copied it into a text document for fast posting later !

I hold little hope of any real answers, but who knows ?

Alan
i am ill

how do I post on the live bit?

regarding the answers I agree on MMR but I know quite a lot of people who do singles and other who avoid it altogether, Tony Blair's answer quoting privacy did not help matters

about breast feeding a proper campaign aimed at boys and girls long before they become parents is probably best along with contraception education and a more realistic view of what bringing up baby really entails

Why doesn't the NHS focus more on preventative medicine?

An example is pregnancy nutrition advice. Pregnant women are given relentlessly negative and often hysterical advice in this country - don't eat too much tuna, don't eat runny eggs, avoid nuts etc - instead of focussing on the good and positive ways you can help your chances of having a healthy baby, by trying to eat a really good overall diet.

It also seems a bit odd that hospitals lecture pregnant women about what not to eat yet allow Burger King etc. in many hospital food courts. What can be the possible justification for this ( other than balancing the books)?

I don't have much to ask as it's all been asked already, but will watch this with interest.

I hope he's a faster typer than David Cameron.

grouphug

The live bit is just like normal Talk, we ask and he answers

Hi all,
Alan Johnson is now in the building (dining room) so will firing away shortly.

Alan

How can polyclinics be right for every community?

Will they be imposed everywhere, regardless of what BMA/patients think?

Alan, I think you have chosen to quote the ?best? figures on breastfeeding

From the 2005 infant feeding survey:

78% start bfing.
At 1 week this drops to 63%, at 6 weeks 48%, and 6 months 25%.

At 6 months, less than 1% are exclusively bfing.

On the support boards here, we hear time and time again about the lack of community support to keep bfing exclusively, and about HCPs who give advice directly against the national and international recommendations to bf exclusively to 6 months, and to continue bfing to 2 years or beyond. We also hear that HVs have no obligation to keep up to date with breastfeeding advice, and so continue to give information that they received 20 years or more ago.

Its also very apparent that there is little publicity regarding the benefits of exclusive breastfeeding to 6 months, and virtually no support for those mothers who work and breastfeed, especially beyond 6 months.

On another note, would you like to comment on why the NHS, which should have the greatest buying power of any healthcare system in the world, doesn?t buy equipment centrally to exercise that buying power ? This wastes many millions of pounds a year on capital equipment costs alone.

Hello everyone. Really pleased to be with you today even though it's meant me travelling to North London! As a South Londoner I'll go anywhere for Mumsnet!

In answer to Branshott - there is a debate about the value of annual/bi-annual check ups particularly because of the concern that GP surgeries, pharmacies etc will be full of the worried well whilst those people who are particularly prone to certain diseases are not catered for.Nevertheless you will have seen our announcement recently about vascular checks where everyone between 40 and 74 will be seen on a call and re-call basis every 5 years which will really help in the fight to prevent illnesses such as heart disease, kidney disease and diabetes.

"Several of you asked about breastfeeding, and support for mothers who want to breastfeed. I agree that breastfeeding is best for babies, and the government recommends breastfeeding for the first six months of a baby's life. More mums do breastfeed now ? more than three-quarters ? but breastfeeding rates are lower among mothers under 20 and those from disadvantaged groups, and so apart from all the other benefits, increasing breastfeeding will help us tackle health inequalities ? a key Labour government priority. Our recent Obesity Strategy highlighted breastfeeding as a key way of reducing childhood obesity rates, and we're doing a number of things to promote breastfeeding as the norm for mothers. A lot of that is about education, with an information campaign along with continued support for National Breastfeeding Awareness Week, a National Helpline for breastfeeding mothers, and work to ensure that maternity units have an environment that supports breastfeeding. But we also want to do more to encourage employers and businesses to support employees and customers who breastfeed."

The Government recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of a baby's life - if it doesn't recommend breastfeeding beyond that, why is follow-on still allowed to be sold, since it's very clearly a breastmilk substitute.

The National Helpline is to be applauded, but the funding is lamentable compared with the number of women who start breastfeeding in this country - and I have had to dig to find information about it - it's not been advertised much. Smoking cessation gets FAR more support - the NHS has a dedicated helpline, etc. We know women want to breastfeed, we know breastfeeding is best for babies AND for mothers - and, I believe, for society as a whole - why isn't there more funding being put into breastfeeding support across the country?

"The current UK position regarding baby milk legislation has been likened to the practice of securing your home by locking the front door and all the windows but failing to close the backdoor. It gives the baby feeding industry in the UK the key to the expansion of the baby milk market - the use of the health care system as a market place. The NHS is left to pick up the costs - estimated to be £35 million for gastroenteritis alone" (www.babyfeedinglawgroup.org.uk/resources/whychangelaw.html)

£35 million is a lot of money that, if a decent breastfeeding strategy existed in the UK, could be diverted into other areas of the NHS. It would only take one generation of properly trained healthcare workers to bring about a change in thinking - hospitals ought to be told they have to go Baby Friendly (NICE says the BF standards should be the MINIMUM), for instance. Or maybe, and this is a bit radical, admittedly - make breastfeeding training and updates mandatory for all NHS staff - it currently isn't, which is outrageous.

Have you signed the Breastfeeding Manifesto, Mr Johnson? www.breastfeedingmanifesto.org.uk/mp_supporters.php It would appear not, but I would urge you to do so.

I could go on... Some would say I already have. Please feel free to visit me at www.howbreastfeedingworks.com

I'd like to second VVVs question about follow on milk, and also ask why the formula companies still aren't complying with the 2005 legislation, and have been allowed to delay the 2008 ?

Would you like to show your support of the breastfeeding manifesto ?

Mr Johnson, do you boycott Nestle?

Also, with Northwick Park Hospital in the news again with a second closure of its maternity services in 18 months, and the wildly varying standards of maternity care in the UK, what plans do the Government have to improve services across the board for pregnant women and new mothers?

I'd also like to question the labelling on baby food that still indicates a suitability age range of 4-6 months, which is in direct conflict with the Governments 6 months exclusive breastfeeding recommendation. Why is this allowed to happen and what are you doing about it?

Hi Alan, do you feel you've missed your chance to become leader of the labour party after Blair left? Were you tempted to put your hat in the ring.

There have been many points being made here about breast feeding including a question as to whether this was a Government priority. It is and it's also something that I feel very strongly about. The issue emerges in various departments, for instance our move to increase maternity leave orginally to 26 weeks and soon to 52 weeks was in part driven by the fact that we've been signed up to the WHO policy of encouraging breastfeeding for the first 6 months for many years but our maternity provision didn't reflect this policy. Many of the points that have been made here about the disparity between information and advice and poor training for some midwives and nurses about the importance of breastfeeding are ones that I will take away and talk to colleagues in the Department about. We want to improve the situation particularly given that as some correspondents have said that many women give up having initially been persuaded to breastfeed and there is obviously more we could be doing in this area. As already mentioned our policy on health inequalities will address breastfeeding because of the evidence that those from more deprived backgrounds are less likely to breastfeed and our policy on tackling obesity already has a major element relating to breastfeeding. Finally, on the question on infant and follow-on formula we have recently implemented new regulations with the Food Standards Agency to more strictly control advertising of all types of Formulae to ensure that breastfeeding is not undermined by the marketing of such products. I believe that the FSA have finished consulting on draft guidance notes for the regulations and will publish them shortly. An independently chaired review will be formed to look at the arrangements - and I hope Mumsnet will be a crucial part of this review which will begin next month.

Yes why is 6 month follow on milk not considered a breastfeeding alternative under legislation and the formula companies able to advertise. I was sent formula sachets to my home after they got my details when I was in hospital I think via a bounty women who I had no idea who she was as I had only delived 45 minutes earlier!!!