Page three favourite Melinda Messenger has decided not to follow the example of hundres of Oxfordshire mothers by choosing to bottle feed new son Morgan after giving birth in Oxford's John Radcliffe Hospital recently, writes Katherine MacAlister.

She is one of the few mums who decide not to feed their baby naturally - with 70 per cent breastfeeding when they leave the Oxford hospital, a figure way above the national average.

Undaunted by Melinda's example, the Government has launched a 100,000 campaign this week to encourage new mums to breastfeed and is drawing up plans to offer vouchers to mums who do. The benefits are obvious with breastfeeding being recognised as a healthy, nutritious and cheap way to feed our babies, as well as protecting them against a range of infections and allergies.

Due to a lack of information, previous generations were taught that breastfeeding was dirty and succumbed to the propaganda of formula milk instead. It has taken years to reverse the trend.

The cause was not helped by Speaker Betty Boothroyd who caused uproar in the Commons last week when she refused to change the anti-breastfeeding policy in the Houses' chamber and committee rooms. One of the protesters was former Oxford Labour county councillor Julia Drown, now MP for Swindon South, a new mother, who wanted to breastfeed her five-month-old son.

She had hoped to feed him during sessions of parliamentary business rather than having to leave the room and miss important debates and vital events, but her pleas fell on deaf ears.

Luckily Oxford is much more child-friendly and has one of the best breastfeeding records in the country. Not only were the hospitals at Wallingford and Chipping Warden awarded UNICEF UK baby-friendly status, but Oxfordshire also has one of the only breastfeeding clinics in the county. About 600 women a year pass through the voluntarily staffed Breastfeeding Clinic at the John Radcliffe Hospital, most of whom are desperate for help.

"If we weren't here many of them would have stopped breastfeeding and started their babies on bottles instead. A good support network is vital," Chloe Fisher, a retired midwife who runs the clinic, said.

The clinic also has one of the highest continuation rates with mothers usually breast-feeding until at least six months after the birth.

Paola Venables from Oliver Road, Oxford, is still breastfeeding her 10-month-old son Oscar and has never come across any problems in Oxford's pubs and restaurants. "I find Oxfordshire quite open-minded about breastfeeding. I have certainly breastfed in several pubs and restaurants which has never caused any trouble and certainly no negative reactions," she says, citing Moma, Browns, The Magic Cafe and BHS for being breastfeeding friendly.

But she is also a stark reminder of what happens when the support network falls through. When her first son Stan was born she had real trouble breas-feeding for five weeks, before she gave up.

"I had an extremely unhelpful health visitor who kept telling me to just put my baby on the bottle. I didn't know about the breastfeeding clinic then. I had no support and I failed dismally," she said.

**The breastfeeding clinic on Level Five of the Women's Centre at the John Radcliffe Hospital is open three days a week and can be reached on 01865 221695.