Experts call for a change in attitudes towards breastfeeding

0 Attitudes to breastfeeding in public have been flagged up as an issue for new mothers

Mary Renfrew, professor of mother and infant health at the University of Dundee, said: “National Breastfeeding Week is an important opportunity to reflect on whether we are all doing enough to enable women to breastfeed and what we could do better.

“A new way of enabling breastfeeding is needed - one that tackles the societal barriers that individual women cannot tackle alone and creates a shift in the prevailing culture and attitudes to breastfeeding.

“This should be put in place in a planned and co-ordinated way by decision-makers with funding, influence, authority and accountability rather than relying on women’s own determination, the motivation of health professionals and the work of voluntary organisations alone.”

Public Health Minister Aileen Campbell said: “Breastfeeding is an important public health issue.

“We need to remove the barriers that cause negativity towards breastfeeding, and to promote it as a natural and healthy activity for mothers and infants.”