Why are we so slow to breastfeed?

Not enough help for new mothers

ONLY 10 of Ireland’s 19 maternity hospitals have a lactation consultant with experts calling for urgent recruitment to tackle the country’s low breastfeeding rate.

They want to see more midwives to properly support women who wish to breastfeed, and for obstetricians and GPs to get breastfeeding training.

Lactation consultants are trained to advise on challenges like painful nursing or low milk production. Ireland’s breastfeeding rates are among the lowest in the world, at 55%. This compares with 81% in the UK.

The HSE’s breastfeeding coordinator said consultants are crucial in helping mothers and training staff.

However, the number of consultants is not enough to cope with the number of births every year, according to the Association of Lactation Consultants Ireland (ALCI).

Almost one quarter of the 2,800 women surveyed by maternity group AIMS Ireland last year rated breastfeeding support as ‘poor’ or ‘very poor,’ citing staff shortages.

Siobhán Hourigan of the HSE said that the low rate of breastfeeding in Ireland over a number of decades has led to ‘almost two lost generations of breastfeeding mothers. So women often don’t have someone to turn to’.

She said 10 of the 19 maternity hospitals have a lactation consultant in place but not all are full-time.

Nicola O’Byrne, head of the ALCI, said: ‘There are not enough staff in Irish hospitals to give mothers the help that they need.

‘It’s not just about lactation consultants, it’s midwives, too. Most hospitals in Ireland don’t have lactation consultants and in the large hospitals, like in Dublin or Cork, you might have one post for the whole hospital.’

She added that more training for GPs would be beneficial, as well as more chances for obstetricians and midwives to learn about breastfeeding.

NOTWITHSTANDING the proven health benefits, Ireland has one of the lowest rates of breastfeeding in the developed world. The medical facts all support the idea that breastfeeding is best for a baby’s health and development. Why, therefore, are there so few lactation consultants in our maternity hospitals?

We need to recognise that without this vital resource, we put at risk the health of countless Irish children.

Our mothers knew that ‘breast is best’, and so should we.