There will never be another chance to give your child so much protection against illness in one easy go. So

says Dr Trisha Macnair, a doctor

and mother, on the benefits of breastfeeding. A similar message is imparted in a new Scottish Executive advertising campaign, launched yesterday, which aims to encourage more mothers to breastfeed their babies. New figures suggest that it will take more than TV and poster advertising to realise a government target of 50% of mothers still breastfeeding their babies at six weeks by 2005. The target was set 10 years ago but last year, the rate was only 36.5%.

Clearly, the breast-is-best message is not reaching as far as it should, despite overwhelming evidence of the health pluses of breastfeeding for mother and baby alike. Aside from protecting babies against infection and prolonging immunity to other illnesses, breast milk helps build healthy nerves and brains. In the early weeks, breastfeeding gives the maximum protection from disease that lasts for years. For mothers, breastfeeding reduces the risk of breast and ovarian cancer. All in all, it is an investment that comes free and can deliver a lasting dividend.

One reason for the relatively low uptake is the stigma that still faces mothers when they suckle their babies in public. Attitudes are changing for the better. According to figures also published yesterday, 92% of 35 to 44-year-olds, support breastfeeding in public, compared to 90% in the 16-24 age group and 81% of 65 to 74-year-olds. The executive campaign is also aimed at encouraging more people to feel comfortable about the practice. Another, legally enforced incentive is on the horizon. MSPs on the Scottish Parliament's health committee yesterday began scrutinising a members' bill from Elaine Smith, a Labour MSP, which, if passed into law, would protect the right of mothers to breastfeed in public. Bars, restaurants, or shopping centres that admitted children, but stopped mothers breastfeeding, would face a fine of up to (pounds) 2500.

The Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland has described such legislation as punitive and potentially counter-productive. However, by enshrining the right to breastfeed in public in law, the bill would bestow official respectability on what, after all, is a natural and extremely healthy act. If, as expected, legislation resulted in breastfeeding being accepted as part and parcel of everyday life, no longer provoking reactions that embarrassed mothers or caused them to stop suckling their babies in public, there would be no need for prosecutions.

The uptake of breastfeeding is

lowest among mothers from disadvantaged backgrounds. To improve matters, the executive has taken welcome steps to provide support and advice in those areas where self-help groups and coffee mornings are just not an option. In the past, campaigns have tended to be cautious because they did not want to make mothers feel inadequate if there were barriers to breastfeeding. When the health benefits are so great, a bold approach can be justified to remove the final obstacles.