ArticleMaternal & child nutrition2014
Goals, dilemmas and assumptions in infant feeding education and support. Applying theory of constraints thinking tools to develop new priorities for action.
Article in Maternal & child nutrition, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
20 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 42 citations in OpenAlex.
- Guilt, shame, and postpartum infant feeding outcomes: A systematic review.Maternal & child nutrition · 2021Pooled it
- Feasibility, acceptability, and potential efficacy of an innovative postnatal home-based breastfeeding peer support programme in Hong Kong: a feasibility and pilot randomised controlled trial.International breastfeeding journal · 2021Trial
- Trial
- Breastfeeding with primary low milk supply: a phenomenological exploration of mothers' lived experiences of postnatal breastfeeding support.International breastfeeding journal · 2025Article
- Print media coverage of breastfeeding in Great Britain: Positive or negative?Maternal & child nutrition · 2023Article
- Supporting women with learning disabilities in infant feeding decisions: A scoping review.Maternal & child nutrition · 2022Article
- Self-conscious emotions and breastfeeding support: A focused synthesis of UK qualitative research.Maternal & child nutrition · 2022Review
- The Beliefs About Breastfeeding Questionnaire (BAB-Q): A psychometric validation study.British journal of health psychology · 2021Article
- UK mothers' experiences of bottle refusal by their breastfed baby.Maternal & child nutrition · 2020Article
- Professional and non-professional sources of formula feeding advice for parents in the first six months.Maternal & child nutrition · 2020Article
- Women's and peer supporters' experiences of an assets-based peer support intervention for increasing breastfeeding initiation and continuation: A qualitative study.Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy · 2020Article
- "They Just Need to Come Down a Little Bit to your Level": A Qualitative Study of Parents' Views and Experiences of Early Life Interventions to Promote Healthy Growth and Associated Behaviours.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020Article
- The ABA intervention for improving breastfeeding initiation and continuation: Feasibility study results.Maternal & child nutrition · 2020Article
- Experiences of online breastfeeding support: Support and reassurance versus judgement and misinformation.Maternal & child nutrition · 2019Article
- Effects of Intranasal Oxytocin on Pup Deprivation-Evoked Aberrant Maternal Behavior and Hypogalactia in Rat Dams and the Underlying Mechanisms.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2019Article
- Formula Milk Supplementation on the Postnatal Ward: A Cross-Sectional Analytical Study.Nutrients · 2018Article
- Infant formula feeding practices and the role of advice and support: an exploratory qualitative study.BMC pediatrics · 2018Article
- Understanding process and context in breastfeeding support interventions: The potential of qualitative research.Maternal & child nutrition · 2017Review
- Empowering women to breastfeed: Does the Baby Friendly Initiative make a difference?Maternal & child nutrition · 2017Article
- UK women's experiences of breastfeeding and additional breastfeeding support: a qualitative study of Baby Café services.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2015Article
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Authors and funding
2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Three important infant feeding support problems are addressed: (1) mothers who use formula milk can feel undersupported and judged; (2) mothers can feel underprepared for problems with breastfeeding; and (3) many mothers who might benefit from breastfeeding support do not access help. Theory of constraints (TOC) is used to examine these problems in relation to ante-natal education and post-natal support. TOC suggests that long-standing unresolved problems or 'undesirable effects' in any system (in this case a system to provide education and support) are caused by conflicts, or dilemmas, within the system, which might not be explicitly acknowledged. Potential solutions are missed by failure to question assumptions which, when interrogated, often turn out to be invalid. Three core dilemmas relating to the three problems are identified, articulated and explored using TOC methodology. These are whether to: (1) promote feeding choice or to promote breastfeeding; (2) present breastfeeding positively, as straightforward and rewarding, or focus on preparing mothers for problems; and (3) offer support proactively or ensure that mothers themselves initiate requests for support. Assumptions are identified and interrogated, leading to clarified priorities for action relating to each problem. These are (1) shift the focus from initial decision-making towards support for mothers throughout their feeding journeys, enabling and protecting decisions to breastfeed as one aspect of ongoing support; (2) to promote the concept of an early-weeks investment and adjustment period during which breastfeeding is established; and (3) to develop more proactive mother-centred models of support for all forms of infant feeding.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.