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This paper aims to introduce a method for mapping local service provision to local demographic and health outcome data, to inform evidence-based policy and practice in public health. A mapping exercise was conducted in London, England with the aims of: (1) describing services provided for breastfeeding women in primary and tertiary health care sectors and government, voluntary and private sectors; and (2) linking this information with routine data on deprivation, breastfeeding rates and health outcomes. Quantitative data on local breastfeeding services were collected via an online questionnaire by a designated 'mapping lead' in each locality. Data were collected at the level of individual health care organisations on the provision, nature and management of breastfeeding services, and related organisational inputs such as leadership, staffing, accreditation and policy. Demographic and health outcome data were identified from existing routine national data collections. Ninety-one per cent of eligible acute and primary care organisations participated in the mapping exercise. A range of mapping tools and profile were developed and launched in 2009 (). These tools can be used for descriptive analyses of service provision on the basis of local need. Comparative analyses on the impact of service provision on breastfeeding or health outcomes will be feasible from 18 months of data collection onwards. This case study has demonstrated the potential utility of this mapping method to inform effective implementation and evaluation of public health policy in practice consistent with the World Health Organisation framework. Formal evaluation of the utility of the tools is recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Breastfeeding peer support has been identified as a key intervention to help improve breastfeeding and exclusive breastfeeding rates. The World Health Organization, and, in the UK, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, recommend the implementation of sustainable peer support programmes. As part of an evaluation into a comprehensive breastfeeding peer support service in north-west England, in-depth interviews were conducted with 47 women who had received a breastfeeding peer support service. In this paper, we have drawn upon the work of Morse and colleagues to interpret the data in relation to behavioural manifestations of hope, together with insights into the strategies used by the peer supporters to augment hopefulness for women's breastfeeding goals. These theoretical and practice-based findings offer insights into how the breastfeeding peer supporters provided realistic assessments across varying situational contexts, formed strategies and plans to help women overcome any obstacles, made women aware of any negative outcomes, mobilised external and personal resources to facilitate goal attainment, provided evaluations and feedback on women's (and infants') progress, and through praise, reassurance and instilling calm, the peer supporters helped women to focus their energy to achieve their breastfeeding goals. Practice-based implications are considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our aim was to investigate whether the duration of breastfeeding, at all or exclusively, is associated with educational achievement at age 5. We used data from a prospective, population-based UK cohort study, the Millennium Cohort Study (MCS). 5489 children from White ethnic background born at term in 2000-2001, attending school in England in 2006, were included in our analyses. Educational achievement was measured using the Foundation Stage Profile (FSP), a statutory assessment undertaken by teachers at the end of the child's first school year. Breastfeeding duration was ascertained from interviews with the mother when the child was 9 months old. We used modified Poisson's regression to model the association of breastfeeding duration with having reached a good level of achievement overall (≥78 overall points and ≥6 in 'personal, social and emotional development' and 'communication, language and literacy' points) and in specific areas (≥6 points) of development. Children who had been breastfed for up to 2 months were more likely to have reached a good level of overall achievement [adjusted rate ratio (RR): 1.09, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.01, 1.19] than never breastfed children. This association was more marked in children breastfed for 2-4 months (adjusted RR: 1.17, 95% CI: 1.07, 1.29) and in those breastfed for longer than 4 months (adjusted RR: 1.16, 95% CI: 1.07, 1.26). The associations of exclusive breastfeeding with the educational achievement were similar. Our findings suggest that longer duration of breastfeeding, at all or exclusively, is associated with better educational achievement at age 5. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Little is known about the dietary patterns of toddlers. This period of life is important for forming good dietary habits later in life. Using dietary data collected via food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) at 2 years of age, we examined the dietary patterns of children from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC). Principal component analysis was performed for 9599 children and three patterns were extracted: 'family foods' associated with traditional British family foods such as meat, fish, puddings, potatoes and vegetables; 'sweet and easy' associated with foods high in sugar (sweets, chocolate, fizzy drinks, flavoured milks) and foods requiring little preparation (crisps, potatoes, baked beans, peas, soup); 'health conscious' associated with fruit, vegetables, eggs, nuts and juices. We found clear associations between dietary pattern scores and socio-demographic variables, with maternal education being the most important. Higher levels of education were associated with higher scores on both the 'family foods' and the 'health conscious' patterns, and decreased scores on the 'sweet and easy' pattern. Relationships were evident between dietary pattern scores and various feeding difficulties and behaviours. Notably, children who were introduced late to lumpy (chewy) solids (after 9 months) scored lower on both the 'family foods' and the 'health conscious' patterns. Further analyses are required to determine the temporal relationship between perceived feeding difficulties and behaviours, and it will be important to assess the contribution of the age of introduction to lumpy solids to these relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We use the United Kingdom's Born in Bradford study to investigate whether women in lower quality environments are less likely to breastfeed. We use measures of physical environmental quality (water disinfectant by‐products [DBPs], air pollution, passive cigarette smoke, and household condition) alongside socio‐economic indicators, to explore in detail how different exposures influence breastfeeding. Drawing on evolutionary life history theory, we predict that lower environmental quality will be associated with lower odds of initiating, and higher hazards of stopping, breastfeeding. As low physical environmental quality may increase the risk of adverse birth outcomes, which may in turn affect breastfeeding chances, we also test for mediation by gestational age, birthweight, head circumference, and abdominal circumference. Our sample is composed of mothers who gave birth at the Bradford Royal Infirmary in West Yorkshire between March 2007 and December 2010 for whom breastfeeding initiation data was available. Analyses were stratified by the two largest ethnic groups: White British (n = 3,951) and Pakistani‐origin (n = 4,411) mothers. After controlling for socio‐economic position, Pakistani‐origin mothers had lower chances of initiating and higher chances of stopping breastfeeding with increased water DBP exposure (e.g., OR for 0.03–0.61 vs. <0.02 μg/day dibromochloromethane exposure 0.70 [0.58–0.83], HR 1.16 [0.99–1.36]), greater air pollution exposure predicted lower chances of initiation for both ethnic groups (e.g., OR for 10 μg/m3 increase in nitrogen dioxide 0.81 [0.66–0.99] for White British mothers and 0.79 [0.67–0.94] for Pakistani‐origin mothers) but also a reduced hazard of stopping breastfeeding for White British mothers (HR 0.65 [0.52–0.80]), and exposure to household damp/mould predicted higher chances of breastfeeding initiation amongst White British mothers (OR 1.66 [1.11–2.47]). We found no evidence that physical environmental quality effects on breastfeeding were mediated through birth outcomes amongst Pakistani‐origin mothers and only weak evidence (p < 0.10) amongst White British mothers (exposure to passive cigarette smoke was associated with having lower birthweight infants who were in turn less likely to be breastfed whereas greater air pollution exposure was associated with longer gestations and in turn reduced hazards of stopping breastfeeding). Overall, our findings suggest that there is differential susceptibility to environmental exposures according to ethnicity. Although the water DBP results for Pakistani‐origin mothers and air pollution‐initiation results for both ethnic groups support our hypothesis that mothers exhibit reduced breastfeeding in poorer quality environments, several physical environmental quality indicators showed null or positive associations with breastfeeding outcomes. We consider physiological explanations for our findings and their implications for life history theory and public health policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite guidance from the World Health Organization and the U.K. Department of Health, many mothers introduce solid food before their infant is 6 months old. The current study aimed to investigate relationships between maternal feeding behaviours (preintroduction and postintroduction to solids), infant temperament, and the timing of introduction to solid food. Eighty‐one women were recruited on low‐risk maternity units and were contacted at 1 week, 3, and 6 months postpartum. Mothers of infants (45 males, 36 females, mean birth weight 3.52 kg [SD 0.39]) completed the behaviours component of the Infant Feeding Style Questionnaire via telephone interview at 3 months. At 6 months, they were observed feeding their infant solid food at home and reported infant temperament using the Infant Behaviour Questionnaire‐Revised (short form). Partial correlations (covariates: birth weight, maternal age, breastfeeding duration, and postnatal depression) revealed negative associations between age of introduction to solid food and temperament (smiling and laughter) and laissez‐faire milk feeding behaviours; and positive associations between age of introduction to solid food and restrictive milk feeding behaviours and verbal involvement during an observed mealtime. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis revealed that an infant's birth weight and the degree to which their mothers perceive them to smile and laugh are key predictors of when they will be introduced to solid food, over and above other variables of interest (e.g., maternal milk feeding behaviours, breastfeeding duration, and postnatal depression). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]