According to figures from the National Institute for Health Development (TAI), 80 percent of three-month-old babies, nearly 70 percent of six-month-old babies and just over one-third of one-year-olds under the care of a family doctor and nurse in Estonia were receiving breastmilk.

Eva Anderson, senior health statistics analyst at TAI, told ERR that there is a steadily increasing trend of nursing parents not stopping breastfeeding, but rather combining it with supplementary food sources.

Meanwhile, the proportion of infants up to six months of age who were exclusively breastfed has decreased from 20 to 16 percent over the past ten years.

Liis Raag, president of the Estonian Midwives' Association (EÄÜ), says that there's no cause for concern, but added that these numbers should still be taken into consideration.

No research has been done in Estonia regarding why supplementary food sources are being offered to infants earlier or why nursing parents stop breastfeeding sooner. According to Raag, however, the reasons for these changes may be similar to those elsewhere in the world and related to social changes.

"It's cited that advice and help aren't always accessible or people don't know to seek it," Raag said, adding that cultural or social norms and expectations placed on mothers likewise play a role.

"It's the case for us now too that it no longer really goes without saying that the mother is necessarily at home with the child and available to them at all times," she explained. "Moreover, exclusive breastfeeding demands a significant commitment from the mother, which not all young mothers may be ready for anymore."

Reet Raukas, director of the Pediatrics Clinic at Tallinn Children's Hospital, believes that during challenging times, more support should be provided by family doctors.

"In the beginning, there are monthly get-togethers – [it is important] that the mother is ensured counseling with these monthly get-togethers," Raukas stressed.

"If the family doctor themselves can't provide counseling, they should find the right lactation consultant or midwife at the family health center who could provide breastfeeding support," she continued. "So that when difficulties arise, this support is there and they don't give up too easily."

On top of professional help, Raag at the Midwives' Association likewise emphasized the importance of family support as well as social approval.

"I'm really glad when a future father or grandmother, for example, accompanies a woman in parenting classes, and then they really understand even before the child is born the commitment required when a mother starts breastfeeding," she highlighted. "And then maybe these loved ones will know how to support the new mother in moments when breastfeeding feels like a real nuisance or some kind of difficulties arise."

According to Raag, breastfeeding in public still remains a taboo issue in Estonia. "It's assumed and expected that children will be fed, but that this takes place discreetly or hidden away somewhere – that people don't want to see or hear too much about it," she acknowledged.

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