Breastfeeding, quarterly counts by age and local health board
See what variables and values are shown in your table
| Variable | Visibility | Selected values | Action |
|---|---|---|---|
| Data description | Shown in table | Number | Value cannot be changed |
| Local Health Board | Shown in table | All 10 values | Change values |
| Quarter | Shown in table | All 45 values | Change values |
| Milk type | Shown in table | All 8 values | Change values |
| Age of baby | Shown in table | All 4 values | Change values |
Table
Standard shorthand is used in this table: [t] = total, [z] = not applicable.
| Data values | Data description | Local Health Board | Quarter | Milk type | Age of baby |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6,706 | Number | Wales | Q3 2025 | All babies | Birth |
| 6,630 | Number | Wales | Q3 2025 | All babies | 10 days |
| 6,707 | Number | Wales | Q3 2025 | All babies | 6 weeks |
| 6,552 | Number | Wales | Q3 2025 | All babies | 6 months |
| 3,892 | Number | Wales | Q3 2025 | Any Breastfeeding | Birth |
| 3,630 | Number | Wales | Q3 2025 | Any Breastfeeding | 10 days |
| 2,951 | Number | Wales | Q3 2025 | Any Breastfeeding | 6 weeks |
| 1,870 | Number | Wales | Q3 2025 | Any Breastfeeding | 6 months |
| 3,704 | Number | Wales | Q3 2025 | Exclusively Breast Milk | Birth |
| 2,571 | Number | Wales | Q3 2025 | Exclusively Breast Milk | 10 days |
| 2,091 | Number | Wales | Q3 2025 | Exclusively Breast Milk | 6 weeks |
| 1,360 | Number | Wales | Q3 2025 | Exclusively Breast Milk | 6 months |
| 106 | Number | Wales | Q3 2025 | Combined Milk - Predominantly Breast | Birth |
| 684 | Number | Wales | Q3 2025 | Combined Milk - Predominantly Breast | 10 days |
| 548 | Number | Wales | Q3 2025 | Combined Milk - Predominantly Breast | 6 weeks |
| 319 | Number | Wales | Q3 2025 | Combined Milk - Predominantly Breast | 6 months |
| 79 | Number | Wales | Q3 2025 | Combined Milk - Partially Breast | Birth |
| 372 | Number | Wales | Q3 2025 | Combined Milk - Partially Breast | 10 days |
| 311 | Number | Wales | Q3 2025 | Combined Milk - Partially Breast | 6 weeks |
| 190 | Number | Wales | Q3 2025 | Combined Milk - Partially Breast | 6 months |
| 3 | Number | Wales | Q3 2025 | Breastfed Unspecified | Birth |
| 3 | Number | Wales | Q3 2025 | Breastfed Unspecified | 10 days |
| 1 | Number | Wales | Q3 2025 | Breastfed Unspecified | 6 weeks |
| 1 | Number | Wales | Q3 2025 | Breastfed Unspecified | 6 months |
| 2,003 | Number | Wales | Q3 2025 | Not Breast Milk | Birth |
Next update expected:19 November 2025
Updates
- 25th February 2026
This update includes the latest quarterly data.
- 19th November 2025
- 5th November 2025
- Dataset first published.
Main information
- Designation
- Official statistics
- Data provider
- Digital Health and Care Wales (DHCW)
- Data source
- National Community Child Health Database (NCCHD)
- Time period covered
- July 2014 to October 2025
Overview
- Summary of dataset and variables
Number of breastfeeding by feeding type, age of baby, local health board and quarter from 2014 to 2025. The source of the data is the National Community Child Health Database (NCCHD); a database maintained by Digital Health and Care Wales (DHCW). The data is extracted routinely from Local Health Board (LHB) held Child Health System databases.
Dimension specific notes:
- From 1st of April 2019 health service provision for residents of Bridgend local authority moved from Abertawe Bro Morgannwg to Cwm Taf. The health board names have changed with Cwm Taf University Health Board becoming Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board.
- Combined Milk - Partially Breast: 75% or less of the feeds in previous 24 hours were breastfeeds.
- Combined Milk - Predominantly Breast: >75% of the feeds in the previous 24 hours were breastfeeds.
- Exclusively Breast Milk: Breastfeeding or receiving breast milk by any other means e.g. tube, cup, syringe etc and essential medication.
- Not Breast Milk: Formula milk and any other drink but no breast milk.
- Data collection or calculation
In this dataset, quarter refers to calendar year quarter.
From 1st April 2019 health service provision for residents of Bridgend local authority moved from Abertawe Bro Morgannwg to Cwm Taf. The health board names have changed with Cwm Taf University health board becoming Cwm Taf Morgannwg University health board and Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University health board becoming Swansea Bay health board.
- Statistical quality
Breastfeeding data at all points in time are subject to data quality issues as some mothers and babies have incomplete records. Breastfeeding data at 10 days, 6 weeks and 6 months is collected when the children have health visitor and GP appointments through the Healthy Child Wales Programme. If a child does not receive a contact, their breastfeeding data may be missing at that contact point. Not all records in the National Community Child Health Database have complete records for breastfeeding status. The completeness rate decreases with the age of the baby.
Breastfeeding data at 10 days, 6 weeks and 6 months is collected through the Healthy Child Wales Programme. The delivery of this programme has been affected by COVID-19 and has resulted in a small increase of missing breastfeeding data in Q2 2020 (April to June 2020). The percentage of missing data for the Q3 2020 (July to September 2020) is in line with pre-COVID-19 levels. This should be noted when making comparisons between these two quarters.
Published by
- Organisation
- Welsh Government
- Contact email
- stats.healthinfo@gov.wales