Breastfeeding--aim for comfort

Jackie Quick1

  • 1Hereford Hospitals, NHS Trust.

There is now little disagreement that 'breast is best'. The health benefits for both mother and child are undisputed, and the latest UK Department of Health recommendations are that breastfeeding should be the exclusive form of infant nutrition for the first six months of life. So why are only a fifth of mothers still breastfeeding at six months, and why is there such a rapid decline in breastfeeding in the first few weeks?

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