Children's health
The children’s health service is provided by a skilled workforce dedicated to providing support, advice and guidance for Lincolnshire children and young people and their families. The teams are focussed on delivering the healthy child programme which includes:
- immunisations
- health information
- child development reviews which aim to support families to in turn support their children to grow up:
- healthy
- safe
- capable of achieving their full potential
The service offers universal provision from the antenatal period through to the age of six years, alongside targeted support for the school-aged population. With a focus on early intervention and prevention, the service plays a significant role in contributing to the reduction of health inequalities for Lincolnshire children, young people and their families.
In the year April 2023 to March 2024, the service had a total of 65,704 children and adults open to receive care.
Infant feeding
The health visiting service (provided to mothers in the antenatal period and babies from 0 to 6 years of age) offers infant feeding support and advice on all aspects of infant feeding. In line with the World Health Organisation recommendations on infant feeding, a key focus of health visiting activity is promoting and supporting mothers, who can, to breastfeed.
Breast and combined breast and supplement (for example, infant formula) status is recorded at the infant’s six to eight week review. In the year April 2023 to March 2024, of the 5,825 babies who received their six to eight week development review, 2,689 received breast milk (46.2%, an increase of 2.6% on the previous year).
3,136 (53.8%, were supplementary fed (51.2%, a reduction of 2.6 % on the previous year). Overall, breastfeeding rates are slowly improving in Lincolnshire, but efforts to promote and support mothers and to understand the barriers to breastfeeding will continue.
Infant feeding by ethnicity
| Ethnicity | Count of breast or breast and supplement fed infants | Total six week checks | Percentage breast of breast and supplement fed at six weeks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ethnicity: White | Count of breast or breast and supplement fed infants: 2,240 | Total six week checks: 5,179 | Percentage breast of breast and supplement fed at six weeks: 43.3% |
| Ethnicity: Mixed ethnicity | Count of breast or breast and supplement fed infants: 91 | Total six week checks: 171 | Percentage breast of breast and supplement fed at six weeks: 53.2% |
| Ethnicity: Asian | Count of breast or breast and supplement fed infants: 122 | Total six week checks: 154 | Percentage breast of breast and supplement fed at six weeks: 79.2% |
| Ethnicity: Black | Count of breast or breast and supplement fed infants: 132 | Total six week checks: 140 | Percentage breast of breast and supplement fed at six weeks: 94.3% |
| Ethnicity: Other | Count of breast or breast and supplement fed infants: 87 | Total six week checks: 151 | Percentage breast of breast and supplement fed at six weeks: 57.6% |
| Ethnicity: Not stated | Count of breast or breast and supplement fed infants: 17 | Total six week checks: 30 | Percentage breast of breast and supplement fed at six weeks: 56.7% |
| Ethnicity: Total | Count of breast or breast and supplement fed infants: 2,689 | Total six week checks: 5,825 | Percentage breast of breast and supplement fed at six weeks: 46.2% |
Infant feeding by gender
| Gender | Count of breast or breast and supplement fed infants | Percentage breast or breast and supplement fed at six weeks |
|---|---|---|
| Gender: Female | Count of breast or breast and supplement fed infants: 1,338 | Percentage breast or breast and supplement fed at six weeks: 49.8% |
| Gender: Male | Count of breast or breast and supplement fed infants: 1,351 | Percentage breast or breast and supplement fed at six weeks: 50.2% |
| Gender: Total | Count of breast or breast and supplement fed infants: 2,689 | Percentage breast or breast and supplement fed at six weeks: 100.0% |
Breastfeeding groups are delivered within children centres across Lincolnshire. They are open to all breastfeeding mothers and those in the antenatal period. These groups offer professional advice, guidance and peer support to assist mothers in their breastfeeding experience and journey.
Breast feeding group attendance in the year April 2023 to March 2024
| Ethnicity | Number of infants | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Ethnicity: White British | Number of infants: 654 | Percentage: 90.1% |
| Ethnicity: Other white background | Number of infants: 31 | Percentage: 4.3% |
| Ethnicity: Black | Number of infants: 6 | Percentage: 0.8% |
| Ethnicity: Asian | Number of infants: 11 | Percentage: 1.5% |
| Ethnicity: Mixed ethnicity | Number of infants: 16 | Percentage: 2.2% |
| Ethnicity: Other ethnicity | Number of infants: 6 | Percentage: 0.8% |
| Ethnicity: Not stated | Number of infants: 2 | Percentage: 0.3% |
| Ethnicity: Total | Number of infants: 726 | Percentage: 100% |
| Infant gender | Number of infants | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Infant gender: Female | Number of infants: 351 | Percentage: 48.3% |
| Infant gender: Male | Number of infants: 375 | Percentage: 51.7% |
| Infant gender: Total | Number of infants: 726 | Percentage: 100.0% |
This data highlights that 193 fewer children attended groups in 2023 to 2024 when compared to 2022 to 2023.
| Mother's ethnicity | Number of mothers | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Mother's ethnicity: White British | Number of mothers: 596 | Percentage: 82.1% |
| Mother's ethnicity: Other white background | Number of mothers: 32 | Percentage: 4.4% |
| Mother's ethnicity: Black | Number of mothers: 6 | Percentage: 0.8% |
| Mother's ethnicity: Asian | Number of mothers: 8 | Percentage: 1.1% |
| Mother's ethnicity: Mixed ethnicity | Number of mothers: 16 | Percentage: 2.2% |
| Mother's ethnicity: Other ethnicity | Number of mothers: 5 | Percentage: 0.7% |
| Mother's ethnicity: Not stated | Number of mothers: 63 | Percentage: 8.7% |
| Mother's ethnicity: Total | Number of mothers: 726 | Percentage: 100% |
The breastfeeding data shows that white British mothers have lower rates for breastfeeding or breast and supplement feeding at six to eight weeks (43.3%, increased by 2.5%), compared to 71% of other nationalities (an increase of 5.4% on the previous year). Black (94.3%) and Asian (79.2%) being the most likely to breastfeed or breast and supplement feed their babies.
The data also tells us that white British mothers are most likely to attend breastfeeding groups seeking support and guidance. The reason for this is not fully understood and requires further investigation.
The focus on improving breast feeding rates in Lincolnshire will be enabled by the Lincolnshire County Council led development of a collaborative infant feeding strategy for Lincolnshire. This strategy was approved by the Lincolnshire Midwifery and Neonates System, (LMNS) Board Meeting on 16 December 2024 and aims to ensure there is a joined-up approach across organisations and that services provided are informed by and meet the needs of our local communities.
The children’s health service also provides infant feeding support via antenatal and breastfeeding support groups and individual care programmes delivered by health visitors, family health workers and peer support workers. The following data is a total of all the support provided and includes breast feeding group attendance, please note the data only counts a child as one attendance, and not multiple to ensure accuracy.
All breast feeding support groups and individual breast feeding care programme provision in the year April 2023 to March 2024
| Infant ethnicity | Number of infants | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Infant ethnicity: White British | Number of infants: 1,249 | Percentage: 84.9% |
| Infant ethnicity: Other white background | Number of infants: 73 | Percentage: 5.0% |
| Infant ethnicity: Black | Number of infants: 39 | Percentage: 2.6% |
| Infant ethnicity: Asian | Number of infants: 43 | Percentage: 2.9% |
| Infant ethnicity: Mixed ethnicity | Number of infants: 36 | Percentage: 2.4% |
| Infant ethnicity: Other ethnicity | Number of infants: 28 | Percentage: 1.9% |
| Infant ethnicity: Not stated | Number of infants: 4 | Percentage: 0.3% |
| Infant ethnicity: Total | Number of infants: 1,472 | Percentage: 100% |
| Infant sex | Number of infants | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Infant sex: Female | Number of infants: 712 | Percentage: 48.4% |
| Infant sex: Male | Number of infants: 760 | Percentage: 51.6% |
| Infant sex: Total | Number of infants: 1,472 | Percentage: 100.0% |
| Mother's ethnicity | Number of mothers | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Mother's ethnicity: White British | Number of mothers: 1,159 | Percentage: 78.7% |
| Mother's ethnicity: Other white background | Number of mothers: 79 | Percentage: 5.4% |
| Mother's ethnicity: Black | Number of mothers: 32 | Percentage: 2.2% |
| Mother's ethnicity: Asian | Number of mothers: 38 | Percentage: 2.6% |
| Mother's ethnicity: Mixed ethnicity | Number of mothers: 36 | Percentage: 2.4% |
| Mother's ethnicity: Other ethnicity | Number of mothers: 23 | Percentage: 1.6% |
| Mother's ethnicity: Not stated | Number of mothers: 105 | Percentage: 7.1% |
| Mother's ethnicity: Total | Number of mothers: 1,472 | Percentage: 100% |