The Barriers to Breastfeeding working group has been created to design and conduct research into breastfeeding with a focus on identifying and understanding specific barriers to breastfeeding which may be faced by parents. The group consists of undergraduate project and placement students conducting research under the supervision of Dr Fielden and Dr Allen.
Why examine barriers to breastfeeding?
The WHO recommend breastfeeding during the first 6 months of infancy to support infant and maternal health. Despite the compelling evidence in its favour, worldwide breastfeeding rates are still worryingly low with only 44% of infants 0-6 months old being exclusively breastfed (WHO, 2023). There is a substantial early drop-off in breastfeeding in Europe- with rates of initiation of 74-99.5%, reducing to 42-71% after 3 months (Callen & Pinelli, 2004). Moreover, a marked proportion of mothers (60%) end breastfeeding earlier than intended – indicating a discrepancy between their breastfeeding intentions and actual duration (Odom et al., 2013; Rosenbaum et al., 2020).
The rapid discontinuation in exclusive breastfeeding in the early weeks and months after birth suggests that people who start breastfeeding may be exposed to barriers impacting continued breastfeeding. The aim of the BULB lab is to investigate various factors which may contribute to breastfeeding outcomes.
Research Projects
Body Image and Breastfeeding
Breastfeeding outcomes are influenced by a multitude of diverse factors. We have been conducting research into how body image affects breastfeeding. Furthermore, we have been examining the impact of partner support on both body image and breastfeeding self-efficacy (a person's belief in their own ability to breastfeed).
Neurodivergence, Sensory Processing and Breastfeeding
Neurodiverse experiences of breastfeeding are understudied. Some Neurodivergent individuals' experiences of interoceptive awareness (the awareness that we have of our own bodies in space) and sensory processing differ from those of the neurotypical individuals. Therefore, we have been investigating the relationship between breastfeeding self-efficacy and the sensory experiences of breastfeeding for parents.
Systematic Reviews
There are a lot of questions still to be answered about breastfeeding, and so we have been examining the current gaps within the literature and producing designing systematic reviews to iaddress this. We are currently exploring topics such as:
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The experiences of ethnic minority breastfeeding mothers
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How food insecurity affects the feeding of infants
Breastfeeding literature maps
The lab is also creating research maps that visualises the current breastfeeding literature, both the general breastfeeding literature and specific breastfeeding topics, such as.. This is to help us identify gaps in the pre exisiting gaps in the breastfeeding literature, and use these gaps to direct our future research. We are also comparing this to the results from the events to identify any similarities or differences.
References
Callen, J., & Pinelli, J. (2004). Incidence and duration of breastfeeding for term infants in Canada, United States, Europe, and Australia: a literature review. Birth, 31(4), 285-292. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0730-7659.2004.00321.x
Odom, E. C., Li, R., Scanlon, K. S., Perrine, C. G., & Grummer-Strawn, L. (2013). Reasons for earlier than desired cessation of breastfeeding. Pediatrics, 131(3), e726-e732. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2012-1295
Rosenbaum, D. L., Gillen, M. M., & Markey, C. H. (2020). Feeling let down: An investigation of breastfeeding expectations, appreciation of body functionality, self-compassion, and depression symptoms. Appetite, 154, 104756. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2020.104756
World Health Organization. (2023, December 20). Infant and young child feeding. World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/infant-and-young-child-feeding