The past 20 years has seen limited improvements in the initiation and duration of breastfeeding rates, with only a very small proportion of infants being breastfed exclusively at 6 months of age in the UK. In 2000, only 69% of mothers in the UK initiated breastfeeding with only 28% continuing on to four months and 21% at six months. This situation is due to a number of factors such as inadequate training and knowledge of health care professionals, inconsistent advice, the exploitation of mistaken cultural and health beliefs, non-supportive environments for breastfeeding at work and in public places and aggressive marketing of breast milk substitutes. The evidence also shows that many women give up breast-feeding before they would like to because of lack of support in dealing with problems encountered.