The full-blown attack on breastfeeding mothers by weekly columnist Ms Caruana Galizia (TMID, 7 September) must have bothered many readers; however the biggest insult was to all women irrespective of whether they have breastfed or not.

If Ms Caruana Galizia had bothered to do some basic research on the issue she would have found that the Scandinavian countries boast the highest percentage of breastfeeding (95 per cent) in the world with the majority of women continuing to breastfeed infants up to two years of age as recommended by the World Health Organisation.

It is pertinent to point out that these countries are among the most developed economically and socially in terms of earnings per capita, GDP, low poverty, high standard of living and sophisticated health systems. Norway is in fact hailed as one of the top-notch countries in the UN development index. It is definitely not a third world country by any stretch of the imagination.

It is the prerogative of the Health Promotion Department to strive in establishing healthy lifestyles from the cradle to the grave and within this mission, the value of breastfeeding to infant and mother must be promoted and protected. That there are expressions of differences in opinion as to how to promote breastfeeding is justified and helpful but to devalue the whole issue and attack the mothers who have been successful in nurturing their infants with the golden standard is totally appalling.

Malta has no set EU target to reach in the area of breastfeeding; however we do have UNICEF/WHO targets, namely to incorporate the International Code of Marketing of Breast Milk substitutes into national legislation; to create at least one baby-friendly hospital as stipulated by UNICEF and to make every effort in empowering all women to breastfeed their infants exclusively for the first six months of life.

Creating conducive environments that support this natural activity whether in the workplace and/or public places is a baseline for the successful promotion of breastfeeding.

Maria Ellul

Principal Scientific Officer (Nutrition)

Health Promotion Department