I feel I should reply to this as one of the few Irish people on Lactnet ( if
there are any more out there please come out!) . 
Yes , our rates are so awful and thats an initation at birth number,  which
falls rapidly over the first few weeks. The feelings amongst us in the trade
over here , is that the mums who choose to breastfeed need to be supported
first and then they will promote it best.  And thats not happening , Its
quite shocking the amount of people who wont accept breastfeeding in public
. I wonder what it would be like to live in a place where it was just the
norm and everywhere you went you saw mums and babies snuggled up together
getting the very best food on this planet. 
But as someone said to me last week - when i was beginning to despair ! - It
is a bit like the story of the guy walking along the beach where a whole lot
of starfishes had been washed up. Most people would have been overwhelmed by
the sight and not held any hope of saving any of them. However, this guy
threw back one at a time back into the ocean, saying “well I made a
difference to that one.”
I know theres no magic formula  ( no pun intended!) but  a little miracle
would be good...
Nicola O'Byrne
IBCLC Dublin Ireland

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