IT'S why women have breasts - yet fewer than two-thirds of new mums in some parts of Dorset are even attempting to feed their babies themselves.

Those who do try often give up, discouraged by such problems as soreness, anxiety about the baby getting enough milk, and feeds taking too long.

But the latest figures show that 90 per cent of mothers who stop breastfeeding in the first six weeks of a baby's life would like to have carried on for longer, given the right support.

Now Poole Primary Care Trust and Poole Hospital are joining forces to try and encourage more mothers to breastfeed, for the sake of their own and their children's health.

Last May, Poole PCT became the first in the country to appoint a breastfeeding co-ordinator with a specialist breastfeeding qualification, Mandy Grant. And the hospital has just appointed a breast feeding co-ordinator, Sue Hurst, to work with new mums in the St Mary's Maternity Unit.

"Sue and I will be working towards women getting all the support and help they need here, and the same when they go home, so they don't get conflicting information," explained Mandy.

The hospital is aiming to achieve Baby Friendly status by 2006, showing that users can expect a certain standard of antenatal and post-natal care, including consistent support to help women breastfeed successfully.

"To comply with Baby Friendly, every member of staff has to go through 18 hours of training on breastfeeding. Everybody has to have the policy communicated to them, including cleaners and porters," explained Mandy.

She hopes the hospital will be able to start its own milk bank, so that babies needing supplementary feeding can be offered expressed breast milk rather than formula.

There are plans for Bosom Buddies volunteers from the local network of breastfeeding support groups to advise mothers in the maternity unit.

"It will help to relieve some of the pressure from busy midwives. Bosom Buddies have time to sit for an hour with a mum while she breastfeeds and give encouragement," said Mandy.

Some women are adamant they don't want to breastfeed, but Mandy is persuasive. "Three or four days is better than nothing. It does so much for bonding," she said. "Even breastfeeding for a couple of days in hospital reduces your risk of serious bleeding after giving birth. Three or four weeks lines the baby's gut for life."

Breast feeding also helps women to lose weight gained in pregnancy; encourages the womb to return to normal and reduces the risk of premenopausal breast and ovarian cancer.

For the baby, breast milk provides perfectly balanced nutrition for the first six months. It protects against stomach bugs and chest infections, and reduces the risk of becoming obese in later life.

"Formula feeding is a major public health issue and is costing the NHS millions because of ill health," said Mandy. "A baby that is formula fed will be twice as likely to become insulin-dependent diabetic, twice as likely to be asthmatic or have eczema, and five times more likely to be admitted to hospital with gastro-enteritis."

Part-time midwife Sue is hoping to improve education, not only for the new mothers and staff, but also for dads and other family members.

"I've been interested in breastfeeding since I had my own child," she said. "I realised how important it is for some ladies to succeed. Before I had her, I was very ignorant of the advice we could be giving."

The network of breastfeeding support groups in Dorset is expanding - the latest, in Upton, was launched this month and joins Blandford, West Howe, Alderney, Fern-down, Parkstone, Moordown, Wareham, Bovington, Verwood, Swanage, Weymouth and Portland.

Useful numbers: Association of Breastfeeding Mothers 020 7813 1481; Breastfeeding Network 0870 900 8787; La Leche League 0845 120 2918; National Child-birth Trust 0870 444 8708.

POOLE aims to implement the "Ten steps to successful breastfeeding".

These include informing all pregnant women about the benefits; helping to initiate breastfeeding within half an hour of birth; giving newborns no food or drink other than breast milk unless medically indicated; allowing mothers and babies to stay together 24 hours a day; encouraging breastfeeding on demand; giving no artificial teats or dummies to breastfeeding infants.