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Ireland is in the unenviable position of having the lowest breastfeeding rates in Europe and this has been the situation for at least two generations. Currently only about 40% of new mothers in Ireland initiate breastfeeding and many of these cease doing do so before their infants are four months old. As a result it is rare to see a mother breastfeeding in public in Ireland. The invisibility of breastfeeding in Irish society has been noted by many of the new Irish who have arrived here from countries with a strong tradition of breastfeeding. As a result they too are turning away from this healthy practice and choosing instead to bottle feed infant formula to their infants, especially when out in public. Why is Breastfeeding in Public so important? Human infants require nourishment whenever and wherever the need arises. They have small capacity stomachs and need to feed often. This means they need to be with their mothers and have ready access to breastfeeding, especially during the first 6 months of their lives. If Irish society is to effectively support breastfeeding it needs at the very least to protect mothers from adverse comment and other forms of discrimination when they are responding to the normal needs of their infants outside of home. The relatively low rates of breastfeeding in Ireland has resulted in a situation where cow's milk adapted infant formula feeds are seen as 'normal' and breastfeeding as exceptional, even though breast milk is the species-specific food that has been designed and perfected by nature to ensure that human infants survive and thrive. The loss of the tradition of breastfeeding within families and in society generally also means that women may doubt their ability to breastfeed and if they choose to do so there is no confidence-building breastfeeding knowledge base to call on within their kinship and friendship networks. Low rates of breastfeeding can also lead to a society that perceives the human breast as primarily a sexual organ. In this situation a woman breastfeeding in public may be wrongly viewed as flaunting her sexuality in an exhibitionist fashion. This association can lead to embarrassment and unwarranted intrusions upon the mother while she is responding to her baby's needs. Irish research surveys bear this out with many respondents identifying embarrassment, or fear of an adverse response to breastfeeding in front of others, as a reason for not breastfeeding. The core principle of health promotion is to make the healthier choice the easier choice. At the very least this should entail protection from discrimination and harassment. To this end the Health Promotion Unit of the Department of Health and Children in conjunction with the Equality Authority produced a joint information leaflet to inform both breastfeeding families and public service providers of the protections afforded to breastfeeding mothers under the Equal Status Act (2000 - 2004) and the Intoxicating Liqour Act (2003) -in case of discrimination occurring in a public house. This information leaflet forms part of the Health Promotion Unit's on-going campaign to make breastfeeding a normal and unremarkable part of child rearing in Ireland. Another aspect of the campaign has been approaching businesses and service providers to actively support the campaign by displaying a breastfeeding supportive sticker at their entrances. Combining breastfeeding and work Another identified barrier to the continuation of breastfeeding is the economic need to return to the paid workforce for an increasing number of mothers following their maternity leave. The Maternity Protection (Amendment) Act (2004) is a positive step toward the tackling of this barrier by entitling breastfeeding mothers in the workforce to breastfeeding breaks during their working day, without loss of pay, until their infants are six months old. Currently the policy recommendation of the Department of Health and Children states that all mothers should be encouraged to exclusively breastfeed their babies until six months of age and to continue breastfeeding after that in combination with suitably nutritious complementary foods (spoon feeds) up to the age of two years or beyond. This recommendation is based on the best available research evidence to maximise the health advantages of breastfeeding. Note: This article is taken from the Winter 2005 edition of Equality News	Search Tick the box to search just the current location and its sublocations Advanced Search

Breastfeeding in Ireland

By Maureen Fallon, Department of Health and Children

Breastfeeding is the biologically normal and natural way to ensure optimal, growth, development and health for human infants and young children. The evidence base for the long-lasting health enhancing and disease preventative benefits of breastfeeding is so convincing that its promotion, protection and support has become a public health priority in virtually every country worldwide. Breastfeeding in early childhood is now seen as offering a critical window of opportunity to positively influence lifelong health.

Ireland is in the unenviable position of having the lowest breastfeeding rates in Europe and this has been the situation for at least two generations. Currently only about 40% of new mothers in Ireland initiate breastfeeding and many of these cease doing do so before their infants are four months old. As a result it is rare to see a mother breastfeeding in public in Ireland. The invisibility of breastfeeding in Irish society has been noted by many of the new Irish who have arrived here from countries with a strong tradition of breastfeeding. As a result they too are turning away from this healthy practice and choosing instead to bottle feed infant formula to their infants, especially when out in public.

Why is Breastfeeding in Public so important?

Human infants require nourishment whenever and wherever the need arises. They have small capacity stomachs and need to feed often. This means they need to be with their mothers and have ready access to breastfeeding, especially during the first 6 months of their lives. If Irish society is to effectively support breastfeeding it needs at the very least to protect mothers from adverse comment and other forms of discrimination when they are responding to the normal needs of their infants outside of home.

The relatively low rates of breastfeeding in Ireland has resulted in a situation where cow's milk adapted infant formula feeds are seen as 'normal' and breastfeeding as exceptional, even though breast milk is the species-specific food that has been designed and perfected by nature to ensure that human infants survive and thrive.

The loss of the tradition of breastfeeding within families and in society generally also means that women may doubt their ability to breastfeed and if they choose to do so there is no confidence-building breastfeeding knowledge base to call on within their kinship and friendship networks.

Low rates of breastfeeding can also lead to a society that perceives the human breast as primarily a sexual organ. In this situation a woman breastfeeding in public may be wrongly viewed as flaunting her sexuality in an exhibitionist fashion. This association can lead to embarrassment and unwarranted intrusions upon the mother while she is responding to her baby's needs. Irish research surveys bear this out with many respondents identifying embarrassment, or fear of an adverse response to breastfeeding in front of others, as a reason for not breastfeeding.

The core principle of health promotion is to make the healthier choice the easier choice. At the very least this should entail protection from discrimination and harassment. To this end the Health Promotion Unit of the Department of Health and Children in conjunction with the Equality Authority produced a joint information leaflet to inform both breastfeeding families and public service providers of the protections afforded to breastfeeding mothers under the Equal Status Act (2000 - 2004) and the Intoxicating Liqour Act (2003) -in case of discrimination occurring in a public house. This information
leaflet forms part of the Health Promotion Unit's on-going campaign to make breastfeeding a normal and unremarkable part of child rearing in Ireland. Another aspect of the campaign has been approaching businesses and service providers to actively support the campaign by displaying a breastfeeding supportive sticker at their entrances.

Combining breastfeeding and work

Another identified barrier to the continuation of breastfeeding is the economic need to return to the paid workforce for an increasing number of mothers following their maternity leave. The Maternity Protection (Amendment) Act (2004) is a positive step toward the tackling of this barrier by entitling breastfeeding mothers in the workforce to breastfeeding breaks during their working day, without loss of pay, until their infants are six months old. Currently the policy recommendation of the Department of Health and Children states that all mothers should be encouraged to exclusively breastfeed their babies until six months of age and to continue breastfeeding after that in combination with suitably nutritious complementary foods (spoon feeds) up to the age of two years or beyond. This recommendation is based on the best available research evidence to maximise the health advantages of breastfeeding.

Note: This article is taken from the Winter 2005 edition of Equality News