What Sure Start Taunton has done to improve nutrition within the Sure Start local programme?

The aim of this piece of work was to consider 'what Sure Start Taunton has done to improve nutrition within the Sure Start local programme'. Nutrition within the context of this study refers to breastfeeding and heakhy eating. More specifically, this study made an attempt to answer a small number of objectives, such as what groups, services and activities Sure Start Taunton has put in place to promote nutrition. Another objective was to consider the extent to which Sure Start Taunton has influenced families' choices to increase the consumption of fruit and vegetables and mothers' choices to breastfeed their babies. A further aim was to identify the factors that might influence the intake of fruit and vegetables and the barriers to breastfeeding. This study also sought to find out whether staff members think that the existing Sure Start services promote nutrition. Despite the fact that a number of studies have been conducted in the field of nutrition over the recent years, the majority of them focus on 'short terms proxy outcomes' and instead of 'including sufficiently long term outcomes'. This piece of research employed a number of research instruments in order to fill in this gap and examine the long term implications of the intervention to those who are using it. There were: in-depth interviews, surveys, participant observation, e-mail surveys and focus-group interviews. The integration of qualitative and quantitative data offers a robust research design which is the basis for a credible study. There is evidence that Start Taunton liaises with a number of local organisations and has established a range of groups, services and activities to encourage families to develop a healthy lifestyle. However, to what extent does this work meet the objectives of this initiative? The results show that the role of Sure Start Taunton is 'supportive rather than influential' in parents' choices to breastfeed and develop a healthy eating regime. There are some signs but no substantial evidence which indicates a change in families' nutrition attitudes as a result of the intervention. This piece of work also revealed a number of practical and developmental barriers to healthy eating and also uncovered that the support received from the 'close family environment' played an important role in the development of a balanced diet. With regard to breastfeeding, it was found that developmental, clinical and cultural factors prevent breastfeeding. The information received from 'ante-natal and postnatal groups' and 'health professionals' were considered key to mothers' decision to initiate breastfeeding. To conclude, it would be fair to report that a change in people's attitudes and habits towards nutrition could not be a result of a single intervention but a joint community effort