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Background: To protect children's right to optimal nutrition, WHO/UNICEF developed a Global Strategy for Infant and Young Child Feeding, endorsed by all 53 WHO/EURO Member States. The World Breastfeeding Trends Initiative (WBTi) is a tool for monitoring implementation of the Global Strategy. It comprises 15 indicators, ten referring to policies and programmes, and five to feeding practices. Each is scored on a scale of 10, giving a total score of 150 for Global Strategy implementation. To date, 18 WHO/EURO Member States – Armenia, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, France, Georgia, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, North Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, Portugal, Spain, Turkey, Ukraine and United Kingdom – have conducted a WBTi assessment and produced a report. Methods: Between June 2018 and May 2019, all 18 WBTi European reports were carefully read and analysed by a group of national WBTi coordinators. Descriptive data analysis, including inter-country comparisons, was conducted using frequencies and percentages. This paper summarises the findings. The full 88-page report will be published on the WBTi website. Results: Three-quarters of 18 European countries have adequate maternity protection, and two-thirds have breastfeeding initiation rates of 50% or higher. However, 'Preparedness and planning for appropriate and safe Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) in emergencies' is seriously neglected. Breastfeeding duration is far below WHO recommendations, with an average of 8.7 months. Only three European countries have a budget allocated for implementing IYCF policies and plans, and a third currently have no Baby-friendly designated maternity facilities. Bottle feeding is prevalent, despite its inherent risks, monitoring of IYCF practices is inadequate, with most countries not routinely collecting data, and violations of the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes are commonplace. Conclusions: European governments are not doing enough to protect, promote and support sound infant and young child feeding practices. Political commitment at the highest level and adequate funding are required to ensure optimal IYCF for Europe's babies. This report highlights worrying gaps, thereby providing governments, international organisations and other concerned parties with an opportunity to invest in priority areas and, by doing so, hopefully create a better future for our babies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Breast feeding is beneficial for mothers and children and in all countries breast feeding should be encouraged, protected and promoted. Levels of breast feeding in Europe are lower than elsewhere, but there are few recent data on breast feeding policies and progress against international standards. Design: Questionnaire survey of national European non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Materials and Methods: Questionnaires were sent to NGOs in 41 European countries. Reports were received of policy and practice for 32 countries (a 76% response rate). Comparison with an independent World Health Organization/United Nations Children's Fund (WHO/UNICEF) survey showed good result validity. Results: Only 50% of the western European countries had a national breast feeding programme, while these were reported for nearly 90% of eastern Europe. Less than 50% of the countries monitored their programme's progress, only 40% communicated official policies to staff advising mothers on breast feeding and less than 60% reported routine antenatal breast feeding education. Although employment laws supporting breast feeding are common, these may be ineffective because women work outside the formal sector, especially in eastern Europe. Not all countries reported enactment of the International Code of Marketing Breast Milk Substitutes and this had been agreed with the food industry in less than 50%. Regular breast feeding surveys were uncommon and non-standardized. Although 50% of the countries routinely collected data on breast feeding, these data were not necessarily used. The results standardized well against the WHO survey. Conclusion: National breast feeding policies and practices remain inadequate in Europe, where there are considerable weaknesses in the protection, promotion and monitoring of breast feeding. NGOs are a useful complementary source of data and should be used more widely in international surveys and monitoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]