A recent case reminded us that a woman's right to breastfeed in public is protected by law. So why are many Irish men and women still squeamish about the practice - and can attitudes be changed,? asks Kitty Holland

THAT the Department of Social and Family Affairs recently apologised to a woman who was asked to desist from breastfeeding her child in one of its public offices has been described as "shocking" and "very disappointing" by those who would like to see our low breastfeeding rates increase.

It is, of course, not the apology that shocks them, but the fact that the woman was feeding her child in the most natural way possible and was asked to stop.

The incident occurred in a social welfare office in north Dublin and the woman lodged a complaint about it under the Equal Status 2000 Act in June. The act prohibits discrimination on nine grounds, which include the provision of goods and services, the disposal of property, access to education and family status.

Following mediation, an apology was issued along with a statement affirming the right of a mother to breastfeed in all public places.

"I was surprised and shocked," said Maureen Fallon, co-ordinator of the National Committee on Breastfeeding, which was established in 2005 to promote a culture of breastfeeding. "All public services should be aware of the rights of women to breastfeed."

And yet, given the fact that the majority of Irish mothers are reaching for the bottle when it comes to feeding their baby, is it really so shocking?

As Fallon acknowledges, we are a bottle-feeding culture. Breastfeeding is not an activity you see very often. Though the most nurturing of activities in the human experience, people remain squeamish about it - about doing it in public, about witnessing it.

"People regard it as something extraordinary," says Fallon.

Aisling Bhreathnach, lactation midwife at the Rotunda maternity hospital in Dublin, says immigrant women are "horrified" at how unusual it is to breastfeed here.

About 47 per cent of mothers are breastfeeding on leaving Irish hospitals, compared with about 60 per cent in France and 78 per cent in Britain. Fallon says the fall-off rate here after hospital discharge is "massive". At about six weeks old, only 24 per cent of babies are being fed by their mothers.

The World Health Organisation recommends baby be fed exclusively on breast-milk for the first six months, with partial breastfeeding to the age of two.

The advantages of breastfeeding are well understood. While the mere act, for a vulnerable new being, of snuggling into their mother's full, soft bosom several times a day (and night) provides obvious physical and emotional benefits, the nutrition from the milk itself cannot be overstated.

According to the Department of Health's Five-year Strategic Action Plan on Breastfeeding in Ireland, published in 2005, human milk is a "complex living fluid that ensures optimum growth".

While formula milk is fine and provides a balanced diet, it cannot compare to the milk a mother provides.

Mother's milk varies from woman to woman and from birth to birth. A lactating woman produces different milk at different times of the day, instantly responding to the needs of her child.

"It is the ideal and complete form of nutrition, with many anti-infective and anti-inflammatory properties, including immunoglobulins, white cells and anti-viral fragments," according to the report.

Put simply, says Fallon, breastfed children get sick less often.

"I am often amazed at the level of illness in children we accept as normal in this country. I put it down in large part to the fact the majority of children are not breastfed. It really is that powerful a protector against illness, especially respiratory illness, asthma, allergies, hay-fevers, pneumonia and bronchitis."

And yet the propensity remains to bottle-feed.

The underlying cause of the low rate of breastfeeding here, says Fallon, is its near invisibility, its consequent mystery and the doubt that many mothers have about their ability to do it.

She believes we lost the skill about two generations ago and it was a situation exacerbated by the association of breastfeeding with poverty, the increasing numbers of women at work as well as the initial difficulties in getting going.

Eithne Carey, a La Leche League leader in Bray and Greystones, Co Wicklow, says it is tricky at first for many mothers, most of whom will not have role models for this new activity.

"For most, their mothers won't have breastfed them, so many feel very alone with it. Absolutely vital is that they have the support of their partners and family.

"There are the usual problems with getting baby latched on, and when that's a problem, it can be very sore, with cracked nipples and bleeding. But once latched on properly it should not be at all sore.

"It's a dance between baby and mother, it's manoeuvring the baby. I always say, 'Give it three weeks'.

"People talk about the tiredness, but any baby will tire you. At least with breastfeeding you are forced to sit and relax for half and hour and forget about everything except that baby."

She also stresses the convenience of breastfeeding, the not having to make up formula or sterilise bottles, and the money saved on not buying formula.

Fallon says it will only become the norm when more mothers take it up, and keep it up, and so become a lobby that will demand to be facilitated in public and work-places.

Under the Maternity Protection Act, 2004, employees are entitled to breastfeeding and breast-milk breaks during working hours, or a reduction in working hours where facilities are not present, without loss of pay, until infants are six months old.

As regards public services in restaurants, museums, shops or social welfare offices, mothers are entitled not only to breastfeed, but also to be protected by the service providers from any harassment while feeding.

In the meantime, the Department of Social Welfare has vowed to train all employees who deal with the public on women's right to feed their babies.

In Fallon's view, the woman who recently forced that move is leading the lobby on behalf of hungry babies everywhere.