Health workers are keen to promote the advantages of breastfeeding, but many still prefer to use formula milk.
Campaigners argue that the government needs to do more to encourage women to breastfeed.
They say women on low incomes are given more financial incentive to bottle feed than to breast feed. They get 7 a week in vouchers to cover the cost of buying milk while breastfeeding mothers receive tokens worth 2.10 when they could use extra money to buy healthier food. One HIV woman who refused to have her baby tested and wanted to continue breastfeeding was recently ordered to have the baby tested. The case is likely to be considered by the European Court of Human Rights. The mother does not have to do all the feeding and can leave the baby with others while she catches up on sleep or gets a break from the baby.