School textbooks are to be reviewed to ensure that breastfeeding is portrayed as the normal and natural way to feed a baby.
The plan is just one element of a new Government-backed five-year plan published yesterday aimed at improving breast-feeding rates in the Republic which, at 40 per cent, are among the lowest in Europe.
The document sets out 44 steps it hopes will be achieved to improve the rates. The strategy aims to increase the rates by 2 per cent each year over the next five years.
These 44 steps include incorporating breastfeeding into the social, personal and health education curriculum in primary and secondary schools; encouraging schools and colleges to support student mothers to breastfeed while continuing in education; ensuring compliance with and enforcement of EU regulations on the marketing of breast milk substitutes, and appointing 10 regional breastfeeding co-ordinators.
It also seeks to ensure employers support women who breast-feed and hopes other measures will result in society in general accepting women who breastfeed as doing the best for their baby.
Minister of State Seán Power said all the evidence indicated breast was best. He said research indicated that children who were not breastfed were more likely to suffer more respiratory tract infections, have higher levels of obesity and even suffer childhood cancer. These resulted in increased healthcare costs.
He added that while women who breastfed could save money on infant formula and bottles, they would also be three times less likely to have to take time off work to look after ill children later on.
Mr Power said mothers must be made comfortable when breastfeeding outside the home.
"It is to our shame that Ireland performs badly in terms of breastfeeding rates," he said.
The strategy was devised by a committee established by the Department of Health more than two years ago. It was chaired by Prof Miriam Wiley of the Economic and Social Research Institute.