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New gang – introducing the Breastfeeding and Healthcare Experiences Parenting Science Gang

Have you had infant feeding advice from healthcare professionals that made a difference to you? Was it good or bad advice?

Good breastfeeding advice and support can make all the difference in establishing breastfeeding successfully yet many UK mothers still receive poor advice and support.

Even though stories of poor breastfeeding advice are commonplace (alongside celebrations of good practice) in online breastfeeding networks such as Breastfeeding Older Babies and Beyond and UK Breastfeeding and Parenting Support, still many of us were surprised to learn just how little breastfeeding training many medical professionals receive. GPs for example currently cover very little material on breastfeeding in their pre-registration training. Paediatricians don’t fare much better (see image below – or the WBTi report for a better quality image).

So, what is the effect of this knowledge gap? Could we use our shared stories to learn more about this?

Can we do something positive with the wealth of experience of poor advice that breastfeeding mothers have?

Want to help us find out?

This is the inspiration for the new Breastfeeding and Healthcare Experiences Parenting Science Gang.

Group members will chose a question to research and then design and run their own study to find the evidence they need.

We’ll talk to experts and scientists along the way; our first Q&A was with the excellent GP Infant Feeding Network (GPIFN) about their voluntary work supporting their peers – GPs and other healthcare professionals – to provide evidence-based support for the mothers and babies in their care.

This group also has an exciting opportunity – we’ve been invited to present our results to the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Infant Feeding.

Interested in getting involved? Apply to join here.

 

Related links:

PSG at the House of Commons – BF HCE PSG’s first experience of the Infant Feeding APPG

A message for GPs: when a breastfeeding mother walks through your door…

What does your Doctor Know about Breastfeeding?

 

 

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