The impact of breastfeeding peer support for mothers aged under 25: a time series analysis

Scott, Sarah; Pritchard, Catherine; Szatkowski, Lisa

Abstract

Breastfeeding has known positive health benefits for babies and mothers, yet the UK has one of the lowest breastfeeding initiation rates in Europe. Despite national guidance that recommends provision of breastfeeding peer support, there is conflicting evidence regarding its effectiveness, especially in high-income countries, and a lack of evidence among young mothers. This study evaluates the effectiveness of a breastfeeding peer support service (BPSS) in one UK city in increasing breastfeeding initiation and duration in young mothers. Routinely collected data were obtained on feeding method at birth, 2 and 6 weeks for all 5790 women aged <25 registered with a local general practitioner and who gave birth from April 2009 to September 2013. Segmented regression was used to quantify the impact of the introduction of the BPSS in September 2012 on the prevalence of breastfeeding at birth, 2 and 6 weeks, accounting for underlying trends. Results showed that breastfeeding prevalence at birth and 2 weeks began to increase month-on-month after the introduction of the BPSS, where previous figures had been static; prevalence at birth increased by 0.55 percentage points per month (95% CI 0.10–1.00, P = 0.018) and at 2 weeks by 0.50 percentage points (95% CI 0.15–0.86, P = 0.007). There was no change from an underlying marginally increasing trend in prevalence at 6 weeks. In conclusion, our findings suggest that a one-to-one BPSS provided by paid peer supporters and targeted at young mothers in the antenatal and post-natal periods may be beneficial in increasing breastfeeding initiation and prevalence at 2 weeks.

Citation

Scott, S., Pritchard, C., & Szatkowski, L. (2017). The impact of breastfeeding peer support for mothers aged under 25: a time series analysis. Maternal and Child Nutrition, 13(1), Article e12241. https://doi.org/10.1111/mcn.12241

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Sep 22, 2015
• Online Publication Date: Jan 26, 2016
• Publication Date: Jan 30, 2017
• Deposit Date: Feb 5, 2016
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 5, 2016
• Journal: Maternal and Child Nutrition
• Print ISSN: 1740-8695
• Electronic ISSN: 1740-8709
• Publisher: Wiley
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 13
• Issue: 1
• Article Number: e12241
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/mcn.12241
• Keywords: breastfeeding; peer support; health promotion; time series
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/771660
• Publisher URL: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/mcn.12241/abstract
• Additional Information: This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Scott, S., Pritchard, C., Szatkowski, L. (2016) The impact of breastfeeding peer support for mothers aged under 25: a time series analysis. Maternal and Child Nutrition, which has been published in final form at http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/mcn.12241. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving.
• Contract Date: Feb 5, 2016