When I decided to breastfeed my babies when they were newborn it was a decision fuelled by a lot of things.
For starters, I wanted to give them the best start possible, and secondly, I wanted to know what it was like, that bond, knowing I was feeding my baby from my own body. Thirdly, I gave birth in Norway, where as many as 99 percent of mothers breastfeed, so really, it was never really a case of not doing it.
Currently, however, in the UK, breastfeeding rates are continuing to be rather poor, with just one percent of babies breastfed exclusively at six months. This becomes a wider problem when you take into consideration that breastfeeding is a long-term investment in your child's future health, and that by not doing so, you could be setting them up to be more inclined to health problems later on.
Many studies have shown that breastfeeding protects babies from infection and has been linked to lower rates of conditions such as diabetes, heart disease and obesity, which is why public health workers are keen to encourage it.
Which is why UK health experts are now
eager to introduce a financial incentive for women who breastfeed their babies.
According to Netdoctor.co.uk, a trial has found out that handing out shopping vouchers to mums improved breastfeeding rates by 20 percent, with experts saying it made the activity "more normal" in areas where women were embarrassed about breastfeeding.
The trial took place in Derbyshire and South Yorkshire, where women were offered up to £200 in vouchers for breastfeeding their babies.
After a year, 38 percent of the women receiving vouchers were breastfeeding, compared to just 32 percent of the women receiving no financial bonus.
Shirley Cramer from the Royal Society for Public Health told The Times that the vouchers "could be just the nudge that some mothers need".
Not everyone agrees with the scheme, however, with Gill Walton, chief executive of the Royal College of Midwives stating: "The motive for breastfeeding cannot be rooted by offering financial reward, it has to be something that a mother wants to do in the interest of the health and wellbeing of her baby".
