Mothers and mothers-to-be are being reminded that there is a range of supports available to those who want to breastfeed.

This week is National Breastfeeding Week and the theme of this year's event is ‘Every Breastfeed Makes a Difference'.

Currently in Ireland, 58% of mothers are breastfeeding their babies when discharged from maternity hospitals. Over 47% of these are breastfeeding exclusively, while just over 10% are combining breast and bottle feeding.

However, many of these women may experience challenges when they get home which lead to them giving up breastfeeding sooner than they planned.

"The Institute of Public Health in Ireland is this week publishing a report on breastfeeding on the island of Ireland, which will show that many breastfeeding mothers would like to have breastfed for longer. We want to support mothers in Ireland to breastfeed and to continue to breastfeed for longer," explained, the HSE's national breastfeeding co-ordinator, Siobhan Hourigan.

She noted that the HSE website, breastfeeding.ie, provides answers to many questions people may have.

"The practical information and support provided by our lactation consultants at breastfeeding.ie is a great source of help for mothers and the feedback is very positive from those we have helped along the way. Being able to chat to one of our experts online, as well as finding out about local breastfeeding groups, is what new mothers want and we're here to support them," Ms Hourigan said.

There are over 300 breastfeeding support groups nationwide, which are organised by lactation consultants, public health nurses or trained breastfeeding support volunteers.

The HSE also has a breastfeeding Facebook page, which provides further support to mothers. It can be viewed here

National Breastfeeding Week runs from October 1-7.