Maternal and infant nutrition
Maternal and infant nutrition
The Scottish Government recognises the importance of good nutrition to support optimal health for mothers and babies. Since 2018, we have provided around £10 million in additional funding to support breastfeeding quality improvement projects initiated by our partners and welcome the resulting annual increases in Scottish breastfeeding rates across a number of measures. We published a national stretch aim for breastfeeding in Scotland's diet and healthy weight delivery plan to reduce the drop off in breastfeeding rates by 2025 and, in 2019, launched the first national Breastfeeding Friendly Scotland scheme.
Scottish Government Maternal and Infant Nutrition Survey
In 2017, we carried out the Scottish Government Maternal and Infant Nutrition Survey. Our aim with this survey was to gather data that would:
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inform the work of early years organisations
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design and implement effective nutritional support for families
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improve the health of Scotland's children and pregnant women
The maternal and infant nutrition survey results were published in February 2018. The data provided gives NHS boards the evidence required to set targets and indicators and to measure outcomes.
Breastfeeding and infant feeding strategic framework 2025-2030
We published the breastfeeding and infant feeding strategic framework 2025-2030 in June 2025. This sets out national actions on how we will support pregnant women, mothers and new parents on their infant feeding journey, continue to reduce breastfeeding inequalities and improve experiences informed by evidence of what works in Scotland.