Objectives: To explore the relationship between infant feeding and maternal mental well-being among women of Bangladeshi and Pakistani ethnicity; and to explore the sources of advice, information and support available to women before and after childbirth. Design: A cross-sectional survey of infant feeding and maternal well-being via structured interviews conducted in the home. Setting: Home visits within two inner-city wards of Newcastle upon Tyne. Subjects: Eighty-six women of South Asian ethnicity. Results: Enjoyment of everyday activities was higher among women who breastfed only (P 5 0.028); whereas feeling sad or crying during pregnancy was lower among breast-feeding women (P 5 0.005), as was not sleeping well (P 5 0.003) and feeling that everything was too much (P 5 0.039), compared with women who used formula or mixed feeding. Women who breast-fed only had better mean mood scores than those who formula-fed or those who both breast-fed and formula-fed (P , 0.001). Mean mood responses were also significantly associated with the mother's level of understanding of English and number of years in education (P 5 0.005 and P 5 0.003, respectively). The association between method of feeding and maternal mood remained strong after controlling for the effects of English language and maternal education. Conclusions: The study suggests that breast-feeding may be an important mediator of maternal mental well-being after childbirth. Community-based programmes tailored to the needs of Bangladeshi and Pakistani women which support breast-feeding and encourage exclusive breast-feeding may be of benefit. Keywords Breast-feeding Postnatal depression EthnicityAccess and provision of mental health services to black and minority ethnic groups in the UK has been the subject of extensive Government consultation in recent years 1,2 . Current policies for the general population include the blanket administration of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Screening Questionnaire (EPDS) by health visitors as an initial tool for identifying women at risk of postnatal depression (PND) 3 . However, the EPDS screening questionnaire has not been well validated within black and minority ethnic groups 1 . The EPDS has been found to be unsatisfactory for use among ethnic minority groups, even when applied by link workers who are matched ethnically and linguistically to the cultural group that they work with 4,5 . Health visitors have reported that the word 'depression' is non-existent in many ethnic languages, and that initiating discussions about feelings during the postnatal period can be difficult 4,5 . Recently, the Community Practitioners and Health Visitors Association (CPHVA) piloted a picture booklet to elicit feelings about mood as an alternative to the EPDS. Following the pilot scheme and evaluation, and positive feedback from mothers, this resource is now recommended by the CPHVA for use with women from ethnic minorities 4,5 . The aim of the present study was to examine the experiences of Bangladeshi and Pakistani women during ...