In 2006/07, the Halton and St Helens area of Merseyside had one of the lowest breastfeeding initiation rates in the UK, at just 37.1 per cent. In response to this, the team at the local primary care trust named breastfeeding initiation as one of their key health priorities and formed a Breastfeeding Taskforce, which set out to understand the lifestyles and values of new mums and ensure their needs were met through the Get Closer social marketing programme.
