According to health ministers in Australia, new mothers should be encouraged to exclusively breastfeed their babies till they are six months old, while Federal Health Minister Nicola Roxon met her state and territory counterparts in Adelaide today to put together a strategy for encouraging more women to breastfeed their babies.

To be released year-end, the National Breastfeeding Strategy notes only 14% six-month-old babies were breastfed exclusively, which figure Roxon says is not high enough, compared to other countries worldwide, despite the fact mounting evidence revealing the enormous health benefits of longer breast-feeding for both mother and child.

According to Australian dietary guidelines, babies till they are 6-months old should be breast fed exclusively, introduced to solid foods around 6-months, while continuing to be breastfed till they are 12-months old.

While, the Melbourne's Royal Women's Hospital advises breast milk to be the best food for babies, with supplements like infant formula completely unnecessary when already breastfeeding.