Pregnant women and new mothers across Scotland are to benefit from the world's first study into the benefits of breastfeeding workshops.

The Highlands and Islands Health Research Institute has been awarded £500,000 from the Scottish Executive to evaluate the effectiveness of support groups in improving breastfeeding rates. Despite a wealth of scientific evidence and years of public-health campaigning, rates have remained static in the UK and are among the lowest in Europe.

The most recent survey found that 63 per cent of Scottish women breastfeed their babies at birth, but only two in five were still doing so at six weeks. In Norway, Sweden and Denmark, 98 per cent of mothers start off by breastfeeding; in Poland, the figure is 93 per cent and in Canada 80 per cent.

One study found that in parts of Glasgow only 7 per cent of mothers breastfeed their infants despite the fact that breastfed babies, according to many studies, are healthier and perhaps brainier, while breastfeeding mothers are less prone to some cancers and to osteoporosis.

As part of the study, workshops will be set up across Scotland to encourage pregnant women and new mothers to attend weekly groups to learn the skill from their peers.

Dr Pat Hoddinott, clinical research fellow at the institute, said many women started off breastfeeding but abandoned it within a week or two.

'Many women find the first few weeks of breastfeeding extremely challenging. Breastfeeding is a practical skill that, like swimming, is best learnt by watching someone doing it and practice.

'That's why we are urging pregnant women and new mums to learn about the difficulties and have a more realistic idea of what to expect in the first few weeks after the birth when a new mother is completely exhausted.'

The most common reasons given for stopping breastfeeding are the baby rejecting the breast, painful breasts or insufficient milk.

But other cultural and social factors can come into play. Embarrassment is one reason that is regularly given by those women who decide to bottlefeed.

The aim of the three-year project, which begins in the summer, is to find out whether peer support improves the low incidence and duration of breastfeeding in Scotland.

The study coincides with a consultation on proposals for women in Scotland to be given the legal right to breastfeed in public.

Labour's Elaine Smith, a backbench MSP, wants to change the law so that pubs, cafés and restaurants could be fined up to £2,500 if they tell women not to breastfeed on the premises.