This item is available under a Creative Commons License for non-
commercial use only 1.6 BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES Despite research
consistently demonstrating the benefits of breastfeeding,
Ireland has one of the lowest rates of breastfeeding in Europe
with rates at discharge from hospital being 45% (Health Research
and Information Division, 2009). Increasing emphasis is being
placed on the role of health professionals in promoting and
supporting breastfeeding (Sikorski et al., 2003). Little data
are available in Ireland regarding health professionals’
perspectives on breastfeeding and women’s experience of
professional support. The research consisted of two phases, a
mixed methods study exploring health professional support for
breastfeeding and an evaluation of an intervention to raise
awareness of breastfeeding amongst health professionals and the
general public. The mixed methods study consisted of a
quantitative cross-sectional survey which investigated different
aspects of community health professionals’ (n=25