Breastfeeding is something to be proud of and Mums shouldn't hide away when it has such a positive effect on the baby's physical development
Breastfeeding can increase the emotional bond between mother and baby
Breastfeeding has been proven to benefit both mother and child. So why do millions of mums feel forced to quit it when they return to work?
What's worse is 70 per cent say that they wish they could have carried on for longer.
Expressing milk at work means mums can easily do both but six in every seven believed their bosses wouldn't approve with four in five feeling their colleagues disapproved as well.
As a result, over three quartes felt too embarrassed to pump milk at work.
The research, carried out by Philips AVENT, also looked at hot new mums have found breastfeeding in public in general.
Six out of ten new mums have endured a 'negative experience' breastfeeding their baby in public.
"Nearly all new mums said they wanted to feel able to breastfeed in public or continue whilst they worked without causing a stir, and many reported feeling angry or annoyed that they had to endure so much unwanted attention," says Deneice Harwin, spokeswoman for Philips AVENT.
"We've been talking with new mums for years and know that breastfeeding can be difficult for many of them at the beginning. The last thing they need is to feel embarrassed about it, when it can seem daunting already."
The study also looked in to what they had found easy about the process as well as what they had stuggled with.
One in six admitted they have been so worried about other people's opinions they have opted to leave the baby screaming for milk rather than breastfeed.
It wasn't just strangers who made women feel insecure with a fifth of parnters admitting they felt ackward about watching them breastfeed in the beginning. Family and friends have also admitted to making up excuses to leave the room to avoid any discomfort.
Vicki Scott, baby feeding adviser, says: "Many of the new mums I see say that they are aware of the behaviour and attitude of others about breastfeeding, and that worries about someone saying something to them is a key barrier to them breastfeeding in public or even in a room with a family member who isn't their partner.
"It's well known that breast milk is the best nutrition for baby. It seems on one hand society is encouraging mums to breastfeed but, on the other, is making it difficult for them to do it unless they hide themselves away.
"Breastfeeding is something to be proud of and Mums shouldn't hide away when it has such a positive effect on the baby's physical development as well as helping to create the strong emotional bond between mums and baby. Mums getting out there and doind it id the only way to shift attitudes again so that breastfeeding is seen as the norm that it is."
Femalefirst Taryn Davies
Tagged in Parenting Breastfeeding