Breast way forward?

At the original hearing, she was successful - and had this decision stood, mothers would have had a right to take paid breaks to breast-feed. But last week, an appeals tribunal overturned the decision.

Julia Goodwin, editor of Prima Baby magazine, says the ruling is very disappointing. ''It's appalling this is happening in the new millennium. On the one hand women are being told to breast-feed for six months, but on the other they are being told to go back to work because the economy needs them. The two things simply don't dovetail.

''We have done survey after survey with our readers and the big issue that faces them is the tug and guilt of leaving their babies while they go to work. They are being pulled in two directions.''

The days of men being the breadwinner are long gone, Goodwin says, and women now share the financial burden. ''We're not even talking about high-powered career women. We're talking about ordinary women with a house, a car, who need to go back to work to keep things ticking over.''

Goodwin argues that there is a powerful economic argument for women being allowed to breast-feed while at work. Their babies are healthier and therefore less of a burden on health resources. Women also take less time off work to care for them.

She says: ''Breast-fed babies are healthier babies. They are less likely to go to hospital with stomach upsets or respiratory problems. The advantage of being breast-fed lasts at least until they are two-years-old and women who breast-feed are saving the NHS lots of money. It's incredibly short-sighted to say don't do this thing in the first few months when it gives babies such life-long benefits.''

The Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) points out that - despite the tribunal ruling - employers are still required to provide pregnant and breast-feeding women with a place to rest.

In a statement, the EOC continued: ''The Health and Safety Executive also recommends that employers provide women who are breast-feeding with suitable rest periods, access to a private room to express milk, and somewhere to store milk.''

However, Goodwin argues that if it's financially viable, women would benefit from staying at home in the first few months. She says: ''Everyone has to make their own choice but I think if you are wanting to fully breast-feed, it's much less stressful for you to stay home for the first four months.''

Stress can reduce milk supply, so it is better to be reasonably calm and relaxed, Goodwin advises. Women also need to empty their breasts every few hours and it takes three months for breast -feeding to become fully established.

New mothers are now entitled to 52 weeks maternity leave following a change in the law in April. For the first six weeks, they are paid 90 per cent of their salary, and for the next 20 weeks they are entitled to £100 a week. The rest of the time off is unpaid.

But many women are forced back to work to pay the bills and this is something Goodwin acknowledges: ''I know that staying home is not a choice for a lot of women and I take my hat off to those who work." These women, she says, should talk to their employers and remember they have the right to ask to work flexibly.

''You could negotiate with your employer before you go back to work and say you need to have these breaks to feed the baby or express milk,'' she explains. ''Your employer now has to give you a written reply proving the case why you can't work flexibly, rather than you having to fight tooth and nail why you should. In the end, we are talking about 45 minutes out of the day for breast- feeding.''

Goodwin notes that in some cases, women will feel too scared to talk to their employers about flexible working. ''I'm sure in some workplaces that's the case,'' she says. ''Maybe there's an argument there for government intervention. Perhaps an incentive, rather than something punitive, for companies to employ working mothers.''

Jane King, editor of Personnel Today magazine, agrees the new ruling is a huge setback and that any company who uses it as ammunition against women is behind the times.

But, she believes: ''We are talking about a minority of cases here. This is indeed a setback in terms of getting women back to work but I don't think there is enormous demand for this. Not all women want to breast-feed, or they scale down breast-feeding before they return to work.''

However, King argues that it's not an unreasonable request to able to breast-feed. ''I think a good employer, with a workforce of women that it values, will allow this to go on,'' she says. ''I would be very surprised if employers take a harsh approach on this. It's not in their long-term interests.''

Nevertheless, statistics show that women often return to work after having children only to leave again. King says: ''Figures show that a lot of working mums come back into work full of plans to further their career, but they don't stay. A lot of it is they feel undervalued, that the business was not able to be flexible enough to accommodate this part of their life.''

In the meantime, King agrees with Goodwin, that women should talk to their employers.

''Nine out of ten times a good employer will find a way round it if they think that person will make a good contribution to the workforce,'' she says.