PPP Symposium - Innovative approaches to understanding breastfeeding and improving outcomes

Applying life history theory to improve breast-feeding outcomes: experimental evidence

Promoting breastfeeding is an important public health intervention, with benefits for infants and mothers. However, despite many initiatives, compliance with recommendations is poor in most settings. The aim of this symposium is to discuss how a broader consideration of lactation and mother-infant signalling, incorporating evolutionary, comparative and anthropological aspects, could provide new insights into breastfeeding  and parenting practices and problems, enhance research and ultimately help to develop novel approaches to improve practice.  Research illustrating the application of this approach will be presented, emphasising the value of an experimental design where possible to allow identification of causal effects and mechanisms. Chair:  Professor Mary Fewtrell (UCL GOS ICH)  

• Life history theory and trade-offs – an introduction: Professor Jonathan Wells  (UCL GOS ICH)  

• Mother-infant signalling during lactation - lactation as a dynamic process: Dr Nurul Husna Mohd Shukri (Department of Nutrition, Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Malaysia)                                                                     

Studies illustrating the combination of a biomedical and anthropological approach to improve outcomes in mothers and infants:

• Counting on grandmothers: support and mother-infant health. Evidence from Mexico: Dr Adriana Vazquez-Vazquez   (UCL GOS ICH)  

• Use of relaxation in mothers of late preterm and early term infants to improve maternal, infant and breastfeeding outcomes, and potential mechanisms 

…… in the UK                                     Ms Sarah Dib  (UCL GOS ICH)  

…… in China                                       Ms Jinyue Yu (UCL GOS ICH)      

• Summary, future directions & discussion: Professor Mary Fewtrell               

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