Breastfeeding Rates in New ZealandNew Zealand’s reported breastfeeding rates compare favourably with the rates of other OECD countries. However, since 1998 there has been little or no improvement in New Zealand’s rates and for Mäori and Pacific peoples the rate has remained consistently lower. There are limitations in the New Zealand data due to inconsistencies in definition, age of collection, and the percentage of the population from whom the data is captured. From 1995 to 2005, 19–21 percent of European and other babies are reported to be fully breastfeeding at six months. This compares with 17–18 percent for Pacific babies, and for Mäori babies this rate decreases to 13–14 percent. Since 1995 there have been a number of initiatives to promote and support breastfeeding in New Zealand, and some of these specifically target Mäori. The development of clear and consistent breastfeeding definitions in February 1999 and the incorporation of these definitions into provider reporting requirements from 2003 will improve the quality of breastfeeding data in the future. Figure 1: Babies with ‘any’ breastfeeding when first seen by Plunket 1922–2001Figure 1 records ‘any’ breastfeeding when first seen
(anytime from birth to six weeks). It should be noted that the drop-off
from 1997 in Figure 1 above is due to the first visit by the Plunket
nurse being later due to midwives visiting longer. As Table 1 indicates, there has been no significant change in ‘any’ breastfeeding rates between 1997 and 2001.
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