18% of Irish mothers stopped breastfeeding before they were ready, due to a lack of professional support.
A new report carried out by Nuk Ireland has found Ireland has one of the lowest breastfeeding rates in the world.
16% of new mothers surveyed said they managed to reach their breast feeding goal, while 7 in ten said they wished they could have carried on for longer.
This week is World Breastfeeding Awareness week.
Independent midwife and childbirth educator Avril Flynn says it's important to raise awareness as new mothers need to be supported.
"72% of mothers say they wished they had breastfed for longer than they did, and over half, 54% of admitted that they finished their breastfeeding journey before they planned to.
"I think as healthcare providers that's our failure, it's never a mum or breastfeeding person's failure.
"The report found that they didn't have the support they needed."
