A distinct lack of resources in Ireland's maternity hospitals is being attributed to a drop in women breastfeeding.

Barely half of women giving birth here breastfeed at birth and one-third of these give up within a fortnight.

A new national report published by the Irish Journal of Medical Science also shows the younger a mother is, the less likely she is to begin breastfeeding and Irish mothers are less likely to breastfeed than women of other nationalities giving birth here.

The report puts the effectiveness of the national breastfeeding promotion strategy under the spotlight.

But Nicola Clarke, a Midwife at the National Maternity Hospital, says that they do the best they can with the services they have: