§ Mr. Andrew MitchellTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Services when he expects to publish the report on present day practice in infant feeding from the chief medical officer's committee on medical aspects of food policy.
§ Mrs. Currie"Present day practice in infant feeding: third report" is being published today. I warmly welcome this addition to what has become a notable series of scientific reports on feeding British babies and young children. It has been awaited eagerly by paediatricians, midwives, health visitors, and child dieticians. It breaks new ground for the series because it considers the one to five-year-olds as well as infants.
The authors are to be congratulated, particularly for their unequivocal statement that breastfeeding provides the best nutrition for babies. I shall make sure that all their recommendations are studied carefully and I am setting in hand arrangements for disseminating their main messages very widely.