The NCT today warmly welcomes the UK's Departments of Health announcement that they will be adopting new growth charts for children aged 0-4 years. The charts, which have been developed for the Department of Health by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, with involvement of stakeholders including the NCT, are based on the World Health Organisation's work.

Unlike current charts, the new growth charts are based only on babies who have been breastfeed and whose mothers do not smoke. Previously the UK charts were based on a mixed sample of babies, of whom the majority were formula fed, after the first few months, leading to increased average weight curves.

Belinda Phipps, Chief Executive, NCT says:

"The NCT has been campaigning for this change for years and so we are delighted that the Department of Health has adopted these new growth charts.

Now that the new charts have been introduced, the next extremely important step is for health professionals to be appropriately trained on how to work with them in order to ensure parents are given the correct information about their child's weight.

The previous charts in use in the UK have not adequately reflected the weight babies will be if they are exclusively breastfed. As a result, some breastfeeding mothers have been misinformed and have been advised to use formula milk or introduce solids as a ‛top up' as their baby is not gaining weight fast enough. The introduction of formula milk or solids too early can interrupt breastfeeding and often brings it to an end earlier."

For more information, visit www.national-childbirth-trust.org.uk