21st century men know breast is best

Lucy Symons, spokeswoman for Kamillosan and registered doula, says: "If new mums who choose to breastfeed receive support from their partners then, in my experience, they are much more likely to breastfeed their baby for longer, giving themselves long lasting health benefits and their children the best possible start in life."

"Breastfeeding isn´t easy, so mums need all the physical and emotional support they can get especially in the early days. If a partner is embarrassed about them breastfeeding in public or in front of his family or friends then it can really knock mum´s confidence and she is much more likely to continue and opt for bottle feeding instead."

"It´s great to see that over the last 15 years men´s attitudes towards breastfeeding have changed with many now realising that it's one of the most natural things in the world a mother can do."

Kamillosan has been working towards raising awareness of attitudes towards breastfeeding in public by conducting research into breastfeeding friendly restaurants and baby changing rooms.

A poll was conducted amongst 100 eating establishments across the nation - from Italian, Spanish and Chinese restaurants to celebrity hotspots, cheap eateries, wine bars, country pubs and vegetarian restaurants. Seven per cent of those questioned said they placed an outright ban on breastfeeding in their establishments.

The UK baby changing room inspection took place to help raise awareness of the importance of providing adequate changing and feeding facilities for mums and their babies. Baby Changing facilities at ten major shopping centres were visited between 26th April and 4th May 2008. As well as general cleanliness, the baby changing rooms were assessed on how easy they were to locate, the amount of space available to accommodate a pushchair and bags of shopping, plus other facilities such as designated breastfeeding areas and necessities such as hot water, soap and towels.