Infant Feeding and Carers Surveys

Steve Webster NHS IC

Infant Feeding Survey 2010

Overview• Conducted every five years since 1975 across UK

• Provides information on:Breastfeeding – incidence, prevalence and duration

Formula feeding Introduction of solid foods and weaning practices Dietary supplements Additional drinks Smoking behaviour of mothers

• Target population - mothers of babies born in August and September 2010 - postal and online questionnaire

• Longitudinal design - 3 stages, when babies are: > 6 to10 weeks old > 4 to 6 months old > 8 to10 months old

• First stage response 50%, around 15,000, almost all postal - good response so far to other stages

• Early results released June 2011, final publication summer 2012

Infant Feeding Survey 2010

Headline early results

Between 2005 and 2010:

• Percentage of newborn babies initially breastfed rose from: 78% to 83% in England 67% to 71% in Wales, and 70% to 74% in Scotland In Northern Ireland there was no statistically significant change

• Percentage of mothers smoking before or during pregnancy fell from 33% to 26%.

• Mothers who smoked were more likely to give up before or during pregnancy in 2010 (54%) than in 2005 (48%)

• In 2010, smoking levels before or during pregnancy were highest in Wales (33%) and lowest in England (26%)

www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/infantfeeding10

Survey of Informal Carers in Households in England 2009/10

Overview• Replaced the previous survey carried out every 5 years by ONS, last done 2000

• Aims to establish the prevalence of caring in England, including; trends in the characteristics of carers (age, sex, etc)

trends in the intensity and nature of caring investigate impact on and support for carers

•Addresses selected at random and a large-scale screening exercise was conducted across England.

•Screening questionnaire administered at household level to identify eligible respondents for the main survey.

• Eligible respondents were invited to complete a 30-minute interview; 2400 carers interviewed May 2009 to April 2010

• Report published December 2010

Some headline results:

• 12% people aged 16 or over in England in 2009/10 were looking after or giving special

help to a sick, disabled or elderly person - around 5 million adults in England • 60% of carers in England were women

• 37% were the only support for their main cared for person

• 48% provided care for 20 or more hours per week

• 52% said their health had been affected because of the care they provide

• 61% expected the amount of time they spend caring to increase in the next five years

• 66% said that they would need someone else to look after their cared for person if they wanted to take a break

• Most likely to be looking after a close family member, such as a parent (33%), spouse or partner (26%) or child (13%)

• Most common reasons for care were physical disability (58%), long-standing illness

(37%) or a sight or hearing loss (20%).

www.ic.nhs.uk/statistics-and-data-collections/social-care/adult-social-care-information/survey-of-carers-in-households--2009-10-england

Survey of Informal Carers in Households in England 2009/10