Determinants of non uptake and early cessation of breastfeeding

• Research type

  Research Study

• Full title

  Determinants of non-uptake and early cessation of breastfeeding in Haringey.

• IRAS ID

  131361

• Contact name

  Therese Hesketh

• Contact email

  t.hesketh@ucl.ac.uk

• Sponsor organisation

  UCL Institute of Child Health

• Research summary

  The aim of this study is to explore reasons for non-uptake and early cessation of breast-feeding in the London Borough of Haringey with a view to informing policy in this area.
  To do this we will:
  • Follow a group of women from pregnancy to three months postpartum to gain an understanding of decision making processes around infant feeding.
  • Explore infant feeding choices and experiences with postpartum women from bottle feeders through exclusive breast-feeders at baby weigh-in clinics.
  The twelve month study will be conducted in the three most deprived wards in Haringey: Northumberland Park, Seven Sisters and Tottenham Hale and will be a collaboration between the London Borough of Haringey Public Health Directorate and the UCL Institute of Global Health. It will comprise two components:

  1) Following a cohort of pregnant women:
  This will be conducted at the Children’s Centres in the three wards. Approximately 30 pregnant women representative of the diversity of this population will be identified at children’s centres on the days when ante-natal care is provided.
  Semi-structured interviews will be carried-out twice for each participant: during pregnancy and six weeks post-partum. These will explore women’s infant feeding intentions and decision making processes, their knowledge about the advantages and disadvantages of breastfeeding and artificial feeding, and advice and support. Interviews will be audio-recorded with specific consent of the participants and then transcribed.

  2) Questionnaire and focus group discussions about infant feeding practices.
  Approximately twenty mothers in each centre with babies under six months of age will be invited to complete a short questionnaire about infant feeding experiences. A sample of these women will then be asked to join a Focus Group Discussion (FGD), one per centre, to explore maternal attitudes towards breastfeeding. The FGDs will be audio-recorded with the specific consent of participants and then transcribed.

• REC name

  Social Care REC

• REC reference

  13/IEC08/0026

• Date of REC Opinion

  17 Jun 2013

• REC opinion

  Favourable Opinion