Understanding the impact of family and partner attitudes, experience and expectations upon breastfeeding.

As social beings, we exist within families and within communities, and the attitudes, beliefs and behaviours of those around us can affect how we think and what we do – consciously and subconsciously. And this very much applies to how we feed our babies: the experience, knowledge and expectations of family and friends can make a big difference to a new mother’s ability to breastfeed her baby. Where women have a ‘village’ around them of individuals who are supportive and knowledgeable, her breastfeeding experience is more likely to go well. Unfortunately, due to a history of very low breastfeeding rates in the UK, much inter-generational knowledge about breastfeeding has been lost. This article explores how the attitudes, beliefs and experience of grandmothers and partners affect breastfeeding decisions. The article also considers how peer support from other mothers can provide source information and emotional support for breastfeeding mothers, when immediate family don’t have the experience to help