MORE new mothers will be urged to start breastfeeding to improve their children's health and reduce the chances of obesity.

Health chiefs across Darlington want to increase breastfeeding rates year-on-year in the town to try catch up with national averages within four years.

Breastfeeding initiation rates are lower than the national average across the North-East and particularly in Darlington, according to the latest figures.

NHS Darlington has set itself a target of annual increases so that breastfeeding among babies aged from six to eight weeks is at the national average by 2013.

In a report to be put before Darlington Borough Council's health scrutiny committee on Tuesday, Miriam Davison, locality director for NHS Darlington, said: "Breastfeeding is the healthiest way for a woman to feed her baby and provides important health benefits for both the child and mother.

"The link between sustained breastfeeding and deferred weaning (to at least six months) and reduced risk of child obesity is increasingly well established.

"There is now good evidence of the link between breastfeeding and improved emotional attachment between infant and mother."

Other benefits include reduced rates of sudden infant death syndrome and lower infant mortality, and less chance of having infections, asthma, eczema, allergic conditions. It can also lead to lower rates of type two diabetes and coronary heart disease when babies reach adult age.

Mothers also benefit with a reduced lifetime risk of breast and ovarian cancer and more rapid loss of weight gained during pregnancy.

Health officials in Darlington have set themselves a range of goals, such as increasing rates of breastfeeding among mothers from disadvantaged backgrounds by two per cent every year, increasing the maintenance of breastfeeding as babies grow older, achieving UNICEF/UK Baby Friendly accreditation with County Durham and Darlington Foundation Trust, and work with other organisations and employers across the region.

Members of the council's health scrutiny committee will also be asked to support the priorities laid out for the coming year in the Primary Care Trusts breastfeeding strategy.

They include creating new permanent jobs which would lead initiatives in maternity wards and in the community by supporting other health workers.

The co-ordinators would also be asked to work with support groups, childrens centres, schools, local businesses, community and voluntary groups and the council.

A dedicated breastfeeding team would also support the programme across Darlington and into County Durham.

More support and advice would also be introduced in maternity wards.