HEALTH officials in Darlington have signed up to a global cause to give children the best possible start to life.

Darlington Primary Care Trust (PCT) has pledged to encourage breastfeeding by signing up to the Unicef UK baby-friendly initiative.

Staff working from the SureStart Centre in McNay Street will be supporting mothers and encouraging professionals, employers and the community to back the scheme. It is hoped to eventually spread the initiative across the town.

Breastfeeding has major health benefits for babies and their mothers. It reduces gastro-intestinal problems in children, which currently cost the nation £35m a year to treat. It reduces asthma and obesity in childhood. Children grow taller, are thinner and have lower cholesterol levels.

In mothers, it reduces incidence of breast and ovarian cancer and osteoporosis.

But in Darlington, a bottle-feeding culture prevails, with just 47 per cent of mothers breastfeeding, which drops to 37 per cent after two weeks, well below the national average of 69 per cent and 59 per cent respectively.

In a three-pronged attack, a breastfeeding strategy has been drawn up for Darlington and County Durham; Darlington Council is leading the way on becoming a breastfeeding-friendly town; and the PCT has signed the Unicef pledge.

PCT health visitor Kath Lane said: "Everyone needs to be told about the benefits of breastfeeding and a key element in this is training, from managers down to the caretaker.

"We need to look at having baby-friendly rooms across the town and good return to work policies.

"It is also important to get the breastfeeding message over early so we need to work in schools."