Letter: Short cuts to bottle feeding

IF WE are concerned about the decline of breastfeeding, we have to look at where 'failures' begin - in the maternity ward.

In Dinah Hall's excellent article, ('The campaign for real milk', Review, 15 May), she states that '. . . well-intentioned but ill-informed staff give breastfed babies a bottle of formula . . .' What she fails to mention is that many maternity units are under-staffed and so midwives may need to cut corners. These professionals are not ill-informed, just tired and overworked.

I will always be grateful to the midwives who taught and counselled me. Breastfeeding was the hardest skill I ever learned. It was only the dedication of the maternity unit staff that kept me going.

Josephine Feeney

Leicester