Feed present our research at Public Health Medicine conference

Dr Rosie McNee attended the British Medical Association’s Public Health Medicine Conference on Tackling Twenty-First Century Poverty, to present our research looking at the impact of food insecurity on infant feeding practices across Forth Valley. A collaboration between Feed, NHS Forth Valley, the University of Edinburgh, Robert Gordon University and Acadia University in Nova Scotia, the study concluded that:

• Breastfeeding provides some women with food security, but physiological demand affected by stress and calorie intake limits this. Mothers raised concerns were raised over donot milk and women’s reproductive rights.

• No official emergency formula provision pathway exists in Forth Valley. UNICEF guideline implementation has led to barriers in access. Demand is increasing, resulting in unsafe feeding practices, maternal shame and stigma.

Reference: McNee RE, Hetherington L, Frank L, Douglas F and Williams EJ. A scoping review of infant food insecurity in Forth Valley: challenges of breastfeeding and formula feeding when food insecure (2023). British Medical Association Public Health Medicine Conference 2023: Tackling Twenty-First Century Poverty, 22nd March 2023.