An exploration into the factors supporting breastfeeding practices V1
Research type
Research Study
Full title
An exploration into the motivating and enabling factors appearing to support successful breastfeeding for at least six weeks among mothers living in the North West of England – a cohort study
IRAS ID
314634
Contact name
Seóna Dunne
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Chester
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 10 months, 2 days
Research summary
The aim of this research is to understand what the supporting factors enabling women aged 18 – 40 years living in the North West of England to successfully breastfeed for at least 6 weeks. The study will be of longitudinal design using qualitative methods such as semi-structured interviews to gather the data. Increasing breastfeeding rates is a strategic public health priority in the UK and understanding the factors that promote and encourage breastfeeding is critical to achieving this (Brown & Davies, 2014). Typically, the number of women who start breastfeeding in the UK is at around 80%, but unfortunately after a couple of weeks this number falls dramatically (Griffiths, 2018). Acknowledging the 2020 Covid – 19 pandemic and the impact this also has had on breastfeeding experiences of women (Brown & Shenker, 2020), conducting research with this group has never been more important. By understanding what has supported this group of mothers to breastfeed, it may inform health professionals on how best to support other young women to breastfeed their child.
REC name
London - London Bridge Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
24/PR/0915
Date of REC Opinion
1 Aug 2024
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion