Welcome to the Stirling Breastfeeding Experience Study. We are excited to be here and hope to deliver a trial that provides an evidence base for positive change. Breastfeeding is known to improve the health and wellbeing of both mothers and babies. It is known to provide perfect, adaptive nutrition to fully meet a growing infants needs and promotes attachment and cognitive development. It has also been shown to reduce the risk of developing childhood and maternal illness including diabetes and breast and ovarian cancers. According to the World Health Organization breastfeeding has both a nutritional and cognitive benefit until the age of two, yet breastfeeding rates drop off significantly in Scotland between 6-8 weeks.
This study aims to investigate the impact of delivering timely breastfeeding information during antenatal care on this drop-off rate. It is a development of a previous pilot study which showed encouraging results and will be utilised on a West Lothian cohort, with the hope that with positive results, we will be able to upscale this research to a national study. It will take the form of co-production action research, with input from a wide range of health professionals and service users to ensure the information we deliver is as pertinent, inclusive and user-friendly as possible.
It is our hope that this study will have a real positive impact on women and families and will enhance and extend the breastfeeding journey of the individual. It is exciting to think that if we achieve this, the potential for improving national breastfeeding rates and enhancing public health is considerable.