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 UK policy and practice are needed to improve support. These should be informed by those with lived experience of human milk feeding and those who provide support.

Research aim: The aim 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. Data took the form of pre (n=67), post (n=12) and 2-month (n=8) surveys, in addition to transcribed recordings of World Café discussions and an online focus group (n=37).

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 priorities for research and policy. Many of the recommendations from historical policy and guidance continue to be areas for further development.