Stakeholder Perspectives on Research, Policy and Practice Priorities to Increase Human Milk Feeding Rates in the United Kingdom.

Background: Human milk feeding rates in the United Kingdom are a public health concern. Changes to United Kingdom policy and practice are needed to improve lactation support. These should be informed by those with lived experience of human milk feeding and those who provide support.
Research Aim: The aim of this study was to identify research, policy, and practice priorities for increasing human milk feeding rates using insights from a wide range of stakeholders. A secondary aim was to evaluate the influence of a World Café on individual attendees and their interactions within the organizations and communities of which they are a part.
Methods: The research employed a participatory qualitative design, incorporating a cross-sectional survey and World Café discussions. World Café is a novel approach to engaging stakeholders in discussion, resulting in consensus-building and participatory-driven recommendations. A pre-event survey was completed by a self-selected sample of 67 participants; 37 of these (55%) took part in World Café discussions or an online focus group. World Café discussions and the online focus groups were recorded and transcribed verbatim. Following the World Café, 12 participants (32%) completed a post-event survey, and eight (22%) completed an additional follow-up survey at 2 months.
Results: Priority policy and practice changes were identified, including enhancing education, the need for dedicated funding for human milk feeding support, the need to include family within support provision, and the need to change policy regarding media representations of infant feeding. In addition, World Café methodology proved valuable for facilitating networking and instigating changes in relation to support.
Conclusion: World Café generated stakeholder agreed-on priorities for research and policy. Many of the recommendations from historical policy and guidance continue to be areas for further development.
Competing Interests: Disclosures and Conflicts of InterestThe authors declared the following potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: Since the completion of this project AB has commenced training to become a peer supporter with The Breastfeeding Network. The authors declare no other conflicts of interest.