THIS MORNING, THE Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) in Britain has argued that school pupils should be taught about breastfeeding in order to create ‘familiarity’ with the practice for coming generations.

Speaking at the launch of World Breastfeeding Week, the college said that knowledge of breastfeeding should be part of personal, health and social education in schools in the UK, adding that the “health benefits” of a mother nursing an infant are “beyond question”.

Recent research has suggested that breastfeeding is not only good for babies, but for their mothers also, with the risk of heart attacks and strokes cut for women who nurse their children.

However, recent HSE figures have shown that breastfeeding is far more common in affluent, urban regions of Ireland than in rural areas of counties like Donegal and Louth.

In 2010, meanwhile, rates of breastfeeding in Ireland were the lowest of 14 European countries, as per published research by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI).

So, in an effort to reverse that trend, is educating Irish schoolchildren regarding breastfeeding the answer?

We’re asking: Should Irish children be taught about breastfeeding in school?