Breast is best for babies, so why do Irish mothers still opt for the bottle?

By Terence Cosgrave ©Independent.ie
You're more likely to get fed your mother's milk if you are the child of a drug addict in Sydney than if you are a child in Ireland.
An OECD report last month revealed that Ireland has the worst rate of breast-feeding in the developed world. In a health service that is feeling financial pressures -- and given that breastfeeding offers many health benefits to both mothers and children -- many doctors believe that strong action is now required to increase breastfeeding rates here. And that would include limiting the access baby formula companies have to maternity wards to market their products.
Dr Colm O'Donnell, a consultant neonatologist, said: "It is difficult to understand why the relationship is so abnormal -- some of it is explained by prudishness, some by our warped relationship with our bodies.
"Breastfeeding is analogous to speaking Irish. Once upon a time it was prevalent, then it was seen as a marker of poverty, now it's been appropriated by the upper middle class in South Dublin," he said.
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