ABSTRACT
Society has a massive impact on breastfeeding – if we do not see breastfeeding but see only bottle feeding, the latter becomes normal. Breastfeeding reached a low point in 1975 with only 50% of women initiating breastfeeding (Foster et al. 1997). In that era, mothers were instructed to feed their babies no more frequently than every four hours and for a maximum of ten minutes on each side with frequent supplementation with formula milk. A certain way to set the mother up to ‘fail’ at breastfeeding. Since then the breastfeeding rate has slowly increased, with an initiation rate of 81% in 2010 (McAndrew et al. 2012). Exclusive, baby-led breastfeeding is now being encouraged (see Figure 1.1).
