Breastfeeding booms in Norway

Nursing Norwegian mothers produce over 10 million litres of milk a year, an increase of nearly 20 per cent since the mid-90s, says the first national study of infant nutrition in Norway.

Norway’s health department says 70 percent of Norwegian babies receive mother’s milk as their only food for the first three months of their life.

By the age of six months, 80 per cent of all Norwegian infants are still nursing. Only one percent of Norwegian babies have never had breast milk, the study found.

Full breastfeeding was formerly recommended for the baby’s first four-six months of life, but now health officials suggest reliance on breast milk for the first six months if mother and child are happy with it.

The study also showed that commercial porridges were introduced into many diets at the six-month mark. About 80 per cent receive vitamin-D supplements as advised and a bit over half received cod liver oil.