Six out of 10 women who breastfeed take steps to hide it in public and a third feel embarrassed or uncomfortable nursing outside the home, a survey has found.

The poll, carried out by Public Health England’s (PHE’s) parenting advice service, Start4Life, found that one in five believed people did not want them to breastfeed in public and one in 10 who chose not to nurse their baby were influenced by the worry of doing so outside the home.

It is illegal to ask a breastfeeding woman to leave a public place but there have been high-profile cases of women being told to cover up.

Dr Ann Hoskins, deputy director of health and wellbeing, for Public Health England said: “Breastfeeding gives babies the best start in life and it comes with a whole host of benefits for the mother, too. Anxiety about breastfeeding in public certainly shouldn’t be a barrier to breastfeeding in general.”

The World Health Organisation recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months. In England, three-quarters of women start breastfeeding their children from birth but only around half are still doing so six to eight weeks later.

The poll of 2,393 people found that 72% support public breastfeeding but a lower proportion felt it was acceptable in restaurants (57%) or on public transport (51%).