A new national education program is being launched in a bid to provide the best possible advice to pregnant women about breastfeeding.

The Antenatal Education Breastfeeding Package is being developed by the Family Health Coalition, a group combining the expertise of the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS), the Royal Hospital for Women, Randwick, NSW Health, and the Centre for Community Welfare Training.

The project is being funded by the Commonwealth Department of Health and Aged Care as part of its National Breastfeeding Strategy.

Its aim is to provide better education about breastfeeding to health professionals who in turn advise pregnant women.

"Most Australian women begin breastfeeding but some do not breastfeed for long enough and there are some women who do not breastfeed at all," said Project Leader and UTS Professor of Family Health Lesley Barclay.

"Too many expectant mothers still get poor advice about breastfeeding, causing them to stop before they really want to.

"This project uses the latest research on women's own experience to improve the quality of information and support women get from their antenatal educators.

"The central aim will be to increase the initiation rates of breastfeeding in groups that are not choosing to breastfeed and to increase the duration rates of those women who are breastfeeding," Professor Barclay said.

The project will feature three education package materials including antenatal group materials, a 20 minute video and accompanying poster, and non-English speaking background materials and strategies.

The package will be developed between June and December this year and distributed nationally to antenatal educators and obstetricians in early 2000.