Published 3 March 2009, doi:10.1136/bmj.b858
Cite this as: BMJ 2009;338:b858

Letters

Improving breast feeding rates

What do people think about breasts and breast feeding?

The first 100% of the full text of this article appears below.

The editorial and research articles on breast feeding seem to be on a different wavelength from the mothers in the studies.^{1 2 3} The interventions made no difference to behaviour, yet the recommendations for an effective intervention are more of the same with different timing and organisation.

What is needed is qualitative studies of what women and men in the UK think about breasts and breast feeding. A whole unexplored erotic/sexual penumbra seems to surround breasts which militates against breast feeding and needs to be explored. Otherwise there is the risk of labouring intensively and expensively in the wrong direction.

Cite this as: BMJ 2009;338:b858

¹ London

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Competing interests: None declared.

1. Cattaneo A. Promoting breast feeding in the community. BMJ 2009;338:a2657. (30 January.)[Free Full Text]
2. Hoddinott P, Britten J, Prescott GJ, Tappin D, Ludbrook A, Godden DJ. Effectiveness of policy to provide breastfeeding groups (BIG) for pregnant and breastfeeding mothers in primary care: cluster randomised controlled trial. BMJ 2009;338:a3026. (30 January.)[Abstract/Free Full Text]
3. MacArthur C, Jolly K, Ingram L, Freemantle N, Dennis C-L, Hamburger R, et al. Antenatal peer support workers and initiation of breast feeding: cluster randomised controlled trial. BMJ 2009;338:b131. (30 January.)[Abstract/Free Full Text]

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Promoting breast feeding in the community

Adriano Cattaneo
BMJ 2009 338: a2657. [Extract] [Full Text]

Effectiveness of policy to provide breastfeeding groups (BIG) for pregnant and breastfeeding mothers in primary care: cluster randomised controlled trial

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