Feeling Good about How We Feed Our Babies:
translating social science research into web-based resources for new mothers and the health professionals who support them.
This project aimed to produce online resources for use by parents, health professionals and parent supporters:
(a) Exploring guilt and shame surrounding decisions about how babies are fed and other parenting decisions;
(b) Providing women with tools to feel good about how they feed their babies;
(c) To help us understand how to support and celebrate breastfeeding while also helping to fight against guilt and shame for all decisions about how to feed their babies.
These materials drew upon research by Fiona Woollard (University of Southampton), Heather Trickey (NCT/ Cardiff University) and Laura Dennison (University of Southampton).
It resulted in an interactive website, Feeling Good About How We Feed Our Babies, and a short animated video.
(a) Exploring guilt and shame surrounding decisions about how babies are fed and other parenting decisions;
(b) Providing women with tools to feel good about how they feed their babies;
(c) To help us understand how to support and celebrate breastfeeding while also helping to fight against guilt and shame for all decisions about how to feed their babies.
These materials drew upon research by Fiona Woollard (University of Southampton), Heather Trickey (NCT/ Cardiff University) and Laura Dennison (University of Southampton).
It resulted in an interactive website, Feeling Good About How We Feed Our Babies, and a short animated video.
Why?
There is significant sociological evidence that new mothers feel guilt and shame surrounding their infant feeding decisions, however they end up feeding their babies.[1] Such feelings of guilt and shame, occurring at a particularly vulnerable time, can have significant detrimental affects on the well being of new mothers.
This results in ‘the Breastfeeding Dilemma’: how to promote and support breastfeeding whilst avoiding the detrimental consequences of guilt and shame. Both Woollard Trickey’s research provide ways of thinking about guilt and shame surrounding infant feeding decisions which can help NCT and BfN practitioners and health professionals to navigate discussions about infant feeding and to arm new parents against guilt and shame. Crucially, these approaches make room to fight against guilt and shame without abandoning efforts to encourage and celebrate breastfeeding.
Both Woollard and Trickey’s research provide ways of thinking about guilt and shame surrounding infant feeding decisions which can help parent supporters and health professionals to navigate discussions about infant feeding and to arm new parents against guilt and shame. Crucially, these approaches make room to fight against guilt and shame without abandoning efforts to encourage and celebrate breastfeeding.
To find out more about our work on infant feeding, go to
http://fionawoollard.weebly.com/infant-feeding.html
[1] See, for example, Thomson G, Eschbrich-Burton K, Flacking R. “Shame if you do, Shame if you don’t: Women’s experiences of infant feeding.” Maternal and Child Nutrition 11(1), (2015)
Funding
This project is funded by the ESRC Impact Acceleration Account at the University of Southampton. The ESRC Impact Acceleration Account is intended to create impact beyond the academic world by exploiting social sciences research to shift perceptions and understanding of important issues of the day, and to influence policy and practice. The Royal College of Midwives also generously agreed to let us use their premises to hold our London focus groups, an in-kind contribution valued at £600. We have not received funding from any bodies associated with the marketing or production of infant formula.