ALL the experts agree - breast is best when it comes to feeding your baby.

It should be the most natural process in the world for a mother to breastfeed her baby.

The health benefits for both mother

and child are significant and well documented.

It also helps to form the powerful bond between parent and baby, and, crucially, at a time when parents are forking out endlessly for nappies, clothes and toys, it is free.

Despite this, many mothers still choose to spend £450 a year feeding their babies with formula milk.

This week is National Breastfeeding Awareness Week, and Helen Wild, infant feeding advisor at Worcestershire Royal Hospital's maternity unit, is trying to encourage more mothers to go for the natural feeding option.

Worcestershire's percentage of breastfeeding mothers is considerably above the national average, but a sizeable minority prefer to use less suitable formula milk.

Mrs Wild said mothers gave various reasons for not breastfeeding.

"Some don't like the thought of it, and are worried about the convenience of it," she said.

"It requires a lot of maternal input, but the rewards are enormous. It eventually saves time.

"Some mothers do get sore and uncomfortable, but we have support groups throughout the county where they can get advice and ensure they are doing it correctly."

Sixty-seven per cent of Worcestershire mothers are still breastfeeding when they leave hospital, compared to 57 per cent nationally.

Mrs Wild believes this is because the county is a relatively affluent area, and breastfeeding is more prevalent among the higher social classes.

"We need to raise awareness about breastfeeding," she said. "We're trying to target the lower social classes.

"They are the people who need it most. It's about education - mums who have children later in life are more likely to breastfeed.

"Mums who have just left school may not be as well educated about breastfeeding."

Other parents may be deterred from this natural feeding method by the public's attitude to it.

Last year, the NHS, the National Childbirth Trust (NCT) and Worcester City Council teamed up to produce a leaflet listing the city's "breastfeeding-friendly" public places.

"There are a lot of places that support breastfeeding now," said Mrs Wild. "It's important, because when babies want to feed, they want to feed immediately.

"We need to make mums feel comfortable, and be able to go into a shop or caf and relax and enjoy feeding."

The public places that support breastfeeding have agreed to support the mother if a member of the public complains about her breastfeeding, and will suggest that the complainant moves to a different table or leaves the premises.

However, not everywhere in Worcester is breastfeeding-friendly.

"Some places are worried about mothers exposing too much of themselves, but women don't want to do that anyway," sad Mrs Wild.

The NCT is using National Breastfeeding Awareness Week to launch its first press advertising campaign, calling for more people to support mums.

It is aiming the campaign at young people in particular, after a recent survey found a majority of teenagers would be embarrassed to see a woman breastfeed in front of them.

Belinda Phipps, chief executive of the NCT, said lack of good information and support was a major reason for women stopping breastfeeding before they wanted to.

"Young people often feel they don't have a role in breastfeeding, but we at the NCT want to make them sit up and listen," she said.

"Showing support can help build mothers' confidence, encouraging them to continue breastfeeding for as long as they choose and to ask for help should they need it."

The following places in Worcester are breastfeeding-friendly:

Cafs

Capuchins: 37 Sidbury

Elgars: 16 Reindeer Court

Natural Break: 4 The Hopmarket

Art House: Chapel Walk,

Druckers Vienna Patisserie: Chapel Walk, Crowngate

Hodson: 100 High Street

Library Caf: Foregate Street

Carwardines: 4-6 Pump Street

Costa Coffee: 3 The Cross

Italian Coffee: 2 St Nicholas Street

Shops

CrownGate Shopping Centre

Debenhams: 69 High Street

BHS: 29 Chapel Walk

Woolworths: 41-44 High Street

Russell & Dorrell: 9-14 High Street

Boots: 72 The High Street

Mothercare: 34 CrownGate

Restaurants

Poppins: 18 The Foregate

McDonald's: 17 The Foregate

Deep Pan Pizza: 19 The Foregate

Little Venice: 1-3 St Nicholas St

Leisure Centres

Perdiswell Leisure Centre: Bilford Road, Worcester

St John's Sports Centre: Swanpool Walk, St John's

Worcester Citizens Swimming Pool: Weir Lane, St John's

Worcester Swimming Pool and Fitness Centre, Sansome Walk

Breastfeeding support groups meet every

week at these venues:

Perdiswell Young People's Leisure Club, Droitwich Road, Worcester, Thursdays noon-1pm. Tel: 01905 681900.

Baptist Church Hall, Cowl Street, Evesham, Fridays, noon-1pm. Tel: 01386 502323.

Touchstone, 41 Geraldine Road, Malvern, 10am-noon, Wednesdays. Tel; 01684 561958.

A new group starts soon at Droitwich. Tel: 01905 681000.