A long-term study by the Australian Institute of Family Studies tracked the lives of 5000 children and showed that by the time babies were six months old the number who were being exclusively breastfed had dropped to 14 per cent, compared to 80 per cent at birth and 56 per cent at three months old.

The World Health Organisation recommends that babies should be 100 per cent breastfed for the first six months of life "to achieve optimal growth, development and health".

Most people in our community are aware that breast is best for babies. Study after study has shown that not breastfeeding increases the risks to a baby's health. Breastfeeding is the natural way to feed a baby.

Generally, women in our society don’t deliberately embark on a course they know is not good for their babies. A lot of money is spent on babies and catering to their needs. Prospective and new parents can spend thousands of dollars decorating the nursery and buying prams, car restraints, cots, educational toys and assorted items considered necessary for the healthy growth and development of a child.

Yet we fall down in the area of nutrition for our very young, at the expense of their short and long term health.

For some women, breastfeeding is a breeze. It is cheap, convenient, portable, always at the right temperature and the baby thrives on it.

Other women do not find it so easy, and yet with support the majority of women can breastfeed successfully. There are, of course, some women who simply can’t breastfeed, and for those women, breast milk substitutes are invaluable.

The study found breastfeeding rates dropped enormously for those women who returned to permanent or casual work by the time their children were three months old. It also found that those with access to more flexible arrangements were more likely to continue breastfeeding. That is hardly surprising.