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Parents’ decisions about whether to breastfeed their infant, and when to introduce complementary foods, are important public health issues. Breastfeeding has beneficial health effects and is widely promoted. Leaflets and magazine articles on infant feeding were collected in 2005, in five European countries (England, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Spain), and screened for statements that link feeding behaviours to infant health outcomes. A total of 127 leaflets contained 512 statements (0.38 / published page). Magazines contained approximately 1 article / month. Health outcomes were more intensively covered in England and Germany. Most statements referred to short term health implications. Lack of scientific agreement may underlie lack of cover of longer term health effects. Scope may exist to promote improved infant feeding practices by increasing the quantity and specificity of messages about health effects. Further research is required to evaluate the impact of alternative means of providing information on infant feeding practices. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Background: The programming concept suggests that poor early nutrition causes an array of medical problems later in life. Public health messages about the implications of programming may not be reaching parents and influencing infant feeding behaviors. Objective: The views of new mothers were sought about the extent to which lifelong health is influenced by diet as an infant, rather than by genetic predispositions or lifestyles and behaviors. Design: A questionnaire survey of first-time mothers was undertaken in 5 European countries. Results: A convenience sample of 2071 mothers from England (438), Finland (426), Germany (414), Hungary (389), and Spain (404) self-completed the questionnaire. High proportions of mothers agreed that how an infant is fed affects his or her health over the first year (95.8%) and in subsequent years (88.5%), but the effect of infant feeding decisions on the development of long-term conditions was the least-cited underlying reason. Diet as an infant was rated an extremely/very important influence on adult health by 64% of mothers, equivalent to environmental pollution (63%), but by fewer mothers than were diet and physical activity in childhood/adolescence (79%, 84%) and adulthood (81%, 83%), genetics/inheritance (70%), and exposure to cigarette smoke (81%). Inter- and intracountry differences were observed. Conclusions: Mothers in this study consider diet as an infant to be a less important influence on lifelong health than many lifestyle, behavioral, and environmental factors and genetics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To (i) identify and describe prevailing infant feeding policy documents in five diverse European countries; (ii) analyse types of health outcomes for the infant that are associated with feeding breast milk rather than formula milk in the documents of different countries; and (iii) assess the extent to which documents reflect the WHO global recommendation of exclusive breast-feeding for 6 months. Design: Documentary review and analysis. Setting: Five geographically dispersed countries of Europe (England, Finland, Germany, Hungary and Spain). Subjects: Policy documents on infant feeding were identified; statements that linked choice between breast- and formula-feeding to a health outcome for the infant were extracted. Results: Twenty-six documents (varied authorships, dates, length and character) were identified: four from England; two from Finland; nine from Germany; six from Hungary; and five from Spain. There was no consistency in the way in which health outcomes were cited as factors in the recommendations for breast- rather than formula- feeding. Seven documents contained no reference to the health implications of infant feeding choice. Of 203 statements in remaining documents citing health outcomes, 24·1% mentioned general health effects, 32·5% protection against infections, 31·5% long-term conditions (e.g. diabetes, CVD) and 11·8% mentioned allergy. Health outcomes were linked to exclusive breast-feeding in only 25% of statements. Conclusions: Policy documents in the study countries varied in the extent to which they reflect the health outcomes for the baby of breast-feeding, and this may limit effective promotion by health professionals. There is scope to improve the process of bringing evidence and recommendations into policy documents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]