The Jersey Births and Breastfeeding Profile 2016, which has been released by the Health Department on Friday, show that the proportion of older mothers – defined as women over the age of 35 – has increased in the last 15 years, from 24 per cent in 2000 to 34 per cent in 2015.
The report – which is the first time such figures have been compiled in this way – also shows that the rate of breastfeeding in Jersey has remained stable in recent years, with around 74 per cent of babies born in 2015 being breastfed at birth.
However, only half of those were still being breastfed at between six and eight weeks of age between 2013 and 2015. In England, the figure is 44 per cent on average for the 2014 and 2015 financial year.
