While nearly 90 percent of Australian women initiate breastfeeding, a tiny one per cent of Australian children are breastfed for the minimum duration recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Researcher Dr Karleen Gribble from the School of Nursing at UWS says this worrying statistic is attributable to a lack of knowledge and support and that breastfeeding beyond six months is widely considered a social no-no.

"Women lack information about the importance of breastfeeding and how to overcome challenges while breastfeeding," Dr Gribble says.

"They also lack the support to continue to breastfeed and frequently experience pressure to wean early. They feel isolated from other mothers because they have little or no contact with women who successfully breastfeed for the recommended period."

The WHO recommends women breastfeed for at least two years and for good reason as early weaning can come at a high cost.

"Early weaning from breastfeeding is associated with a higher risk of a host of illnesses in children including respiratory infections, gastroenteritis, obesity, diabetes, middle ear infections and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).

"By not continuing to breastfeed mothers themselves are at higher risk of developing breast and ovarian cancers, type 2 diabetes, heart attack, rheumatoid arthritis and hip fracture in old age," Dr Gribble says.

Dr Gribble's research paper on long-term breastfeeding won the Mary Paton Award for best breastfeeding paper and will be published in the Breastfeeding Review journal later this month. She will also present her recommendations to an international audience in the United Kingdom later this month.

The study asked over 100 mothers who had successfully breastfed for the recommended duration why they felt they were able to do so when 99 per cent of Australian mothers wean early.

The women identified three common factors that assisted them to continue breastfeeding including: having support from other breastfeeding women who acted as role models; continuing to learn about the importance of breastfeeding giving them motivation to delay weaning; and membership with the Australian Breastfeeding Association who provided support and connection with other mothers.

These women hadn't necessarily had an easy time with breastfeeding. Most of them had encountered challenges - some quite serious - but the learning and support they had gathered enabled them to overcome these challenges.

"To enable women to successfully breastfeed, health professionals should continue to provide information about breastfeeding to mothers before the birth of their child through to their child's second year," said Dr Gribble. "Health professionals should also refer and encourage mothers to connect with other breastfeeding mothers via breastfeeding support organisations such as the Australian Breastfeeding Association."