Pregnancy & Infant Health
Healthy childhood development starts with healthy pregnancies and healthy infants. This section focuses on maternal behaviours while pregnant, indicators that measure the health of births in our community, and infant feeding.
Intention to Breastfeed
What does this measure?
The percentage of women who gave birth who reported their intention of breastfeeding their child, exclusively or in combination with breast milk substitute using data from the Better Outcomes Registry and Network (BORN).
Why is this important?
Public health agencies strongly recommend breastfeeding as it is beneficial for the baby, the mother, the family and the community. Breastfeeding protects your baby from many infections and illnesses, builds healthy eating habits, promotes proper jaw development and promotes healthy brain development. Furthermore, breastfeeding is better for the mother because it helps to control postpartum bleeding, and decreases rates of breast and ovarian cancers. It also promotes bonding between the baby and mother. Not only that, breastfeeding is environmentally friendly and reduces health cost for families and society.
How is Hastings Prince Edward area doing?
Overall, maternal intention to exclusively breastfeed is consistently lower in Hastings and Prince Edward Counties when compared to Ontario. Intention to use breastfeeding in combination with breast milk substitute was generally similar to Ontario. For more data, graphs, and geographic comparisons for intention to breastfeed, see the Maternal Health Snapshot from Public Health Ontario.