Typologies of postnatal support and breastfeeding at two months in the UK: Response to comments by Harpur &amp; Haddon

Emmott, Emily H; Page, Abigail E.; Myers, Sarah

doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2020.112944

Cited by 6 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…This likely reflects a range of factors, including not only unmet feeding goals but also, for example, difficulties linked to introducing both formula and solid foods and 'missing' the act of breastfeeding. Together, these findings bolster recent calls for support interventions to look beyond breastfeeding mothers and to provide more support to those who decide, for whatever reason, not to start or to stop breastfeeding [11,13,46,47].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 54%

The differential role of practical and emotional support in infant feeding experience in the UK

Myers

Page

Emmott

2021

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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Social support is a known determinant of breastfeeding behaviour and is generally considered beneficial. However, social support encompasses a myriad of different supportive acts, providing scope for diverse infant feeding outcomes. Given the vulnerability of postpartum mental health, this paper aims to explore both how support prolongs breastfeeding and which forms of support promote the positive experience of all infant feeding. Using survey data collected online from 515 UK mothers with infants aged 0–108 weeks, Cox regression models assessed the relationship between receiving different types of support, support need and breastfeeding duration. Quasi-binomial logistic regression models assessed the relationship between receiving support, infant feeding mode and maternal experience of infant feeding. Rates of negative infant feeding experience indicate the widespread need for support: e.g. 38% of currently, 47% of no longer and 31% of never breastfeeding women found infant feeding stressful. Overall, practical support via infant feeding broadly predicted shorter breastfeeding durations and poorer feeding experience; results in relation to other forms of support were more complex. Our findings indicate different forms of support have different associations with infant feeding experience. They also highlight the wide range of individuals beyond the nuclear family on which postpartum mothers in the UK rely. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Multidisciplinary perspectives on social support and maternal–child health’.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 54%

The differential role of practical and emotional support in infant feeding experience in the UK

Myers

Page

Emmott

2021

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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“…Such problems potentially explain why, as reported elsewhere, 71% of respondents who stopped breastfeeding prior to 8 weeks found infant feeding stressful and 60% emotionally draining (Myers et al, 2021). As women often report feeling unprepared, abnormal and isolated when they encounter common issues (Brown, 2016;Wall, 2001), every attempt should be made to inform women antenatally that breastfeeding is a learnt behavior (Varki et al, 2008) and how best to prepare for, and overcome, future challenges (Brown, 2016;Emmott et al, 2020b).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

“…While our study did not explore women's mental wellbeing, the relationship between breastfeeding expectations, problems and postnatal depression has been well documented (Brown et al, 2016;Shakespeare et al, 2004). This highlights that social support during the postnatal period is not only about prolonging breastfeeding but also about supporting mothers mental wellbeing (Emmott et al, 2020b;Trickey, 2018;UNICEF, 2018).…”

Section: Hypothesis 2: Social Support Will Moderate the Negative Relationship Between Breastfeeding Problems And Cessationmentioning

confidence: 91%

“…Informational support is the provision of advice, guidance, and information (House, 1981). In the face of such low levels of breastfeeding in the UK where less than 1% of infants are receiving any breast milk by 12 months (Victora et al, 2016), there is arguably a weakened culture of breastfeeding in the UK (Emmott et al, 2020b). This may mean potential supporters do not have effective breastfeeding information, limiting the "supportive" potential of informational support, as has been argued in a US context (Dennis & Faux, 1999).…”

Section: Informational Supportmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the context of breastfeeding problems, practical support may afford mothers the time, energy and space to focus on breastfeeding and work through the problems they are experiencing. Previous studies have documented a negative relationship between allofeeding and breastfeeding duration (Emmott et al, 2020b;Emmott & Mace, 2015;Rempel et al, 2017). However, mothers experiencing breastfeeding problems may benefit from following a mixed feeding strategy (e.g., combining breast and bottle), allowing sore nipples to heal, for instance, and may thus find allofeeding helpful, promoting continued breastfeeding.…”

Section: Practical Supportmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Testing the buffering hypothesis: breastfeeding problems, cessation and social support in the UK

Page¹,

Emmott²,

Myers³

2020

Preprint

Self Cite

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Objectives: Physical breastfeeding problems can lead women to terminate breastfeeding earlier than planned. In high-income countries, breastfeeding problems have been attributed to the cultural and individual “inexperience” of breastfeeding, ultimately leading to lower breastfeeding rates. Yet, cross-cultural evidence suggests breastfeeding problems still occur in contexts where breastfeeding is common, prolonged and seen publicly. This suggests breastfeeding problems are not unusual and do not necessarily lead to breastfeeding cessation. Having evolved a cooperative childrearing system, what matters for breastfeeding continuation may be the availability of social support during the postnatal period. Here, we test the hypothesis that social support buffers mothers from the negative impact breastfeeding problems have on duration. Methods: We run cox models on a sample of 566 UK mothers who completed a retrospective online survey about infant feeding and social support in 2017-2018. Results: Breastfeeding problems were important predictors of cessation; however, the direction of the effect was dependent on the type of problem. These relationships were also moderated by informational, practical and emotional support from a range of supporters. Helpful support for discomfort issues (blocked ducts, too much milk) significantly reduced the hazard of cessation, as predicted. However, helpful support for reported milk insufficiency increased the hazard of cessation. Conclusions: Experiencing breastfeeding problems is the norm, but its impact may be mitigated via social support. Working from an interdisciplinary approach, our results highlight that a wide range of supporters who provide different types of support have potential to influence maternal breastfeeding experience.

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Testing the buffering hypothesis: Breastfeeding problems, cessation, and social support in the UK

2021

Self Cite

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Objectives Physical breastfeeding problems can lead women to terminate breastfeeding earlier than planned. In high‐income countries such as the UK, breastfeeding problems have been attributed to the cultural and individual “inexperience” of breastfeeding, ultimately leading to lower breastfeeding rates. Yet, cross‐cultural evidence suggests breastfeeding problems still occur in contexts where breastfeeding is common, prolonged, and seen publicly. This suggests breastfeeding problems are not unusual and do not necessarily lead to breastfeeding cessation. As humans evolved to raise children cooperatively, what matters for breastfeeding continuation may be the availability of social support during the postnatal period. Here, we test the hypothesis that social support buffers mothers from the negative impact breastfeeding problems have on duration. Methods We run Cox models on a sample of 565 UK mothers who completed a retrospective online survey about infant feeding and social support in 2017–2018. Results Breastfeeding problems were important predictors of cessation; however, the direction of the effect was dependent on the problem type and type of support from a range of supporters. Helpful support for discomfort issues (blocked ducts, too much milk) was significantly associated with reduced hazards of cessation, as predicted. However, helpful support for reported milk insufficiency was assoicated with an increased hazard of cessation. Conclusions Experiencing breastfeeding problems is the norm, but its impact may be mitigated via social support. Working from an interdisciplinary approach, our results highlight that a wide range of supporters who provide different types of support have potential to influence maternal breastfeeding experience.

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Typologies of postnatal support and breastfeeding at two months in the UK: Response to comments by Harpur & Haddon

Cited by 6 publications

References 10 publications

The differential role of practical and emotional support in infant feeding experience in the UK

The differential role of practical and emotional support in infant feeding experience in the UK

Testing the buffering hypothesis: breastfeeding problems, cessation and social support in the UK

Testing the buffering hypothesis: Breastfeeding problems, cessation, and social support in the UK

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