Maternity & Midwifery Forum
Midwifery Sector News

“Body image is a stronger prediction of breastfeeding duration than weight.”

In 2014 the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and the Government Equalities Office published a report into the effects of body image during pregnancy and post-birth. The report concluded that midwives and health visitors should support women not to fixate on body image and to eat healthily during and after pregnancy.

That was 5 years ago. The problem has not gone away. Amy Brown, Professor of Child Public Health (Department of Public Health, Policy and Social Sciences at Swansea University), has dedicated a considerable part of her career to researching breastfeeding adoption rates and speaks passionately about how cultural images of breasts and breastfeeding affect new mothers.

At the Wales & South-West Maternity & Midwifery Festival, in a special hour-long seminar, Professor Brown moved the discussion on to body image as a whole during pregnancy and post-birth. She points to the society-wide objectification of women as a key cause of poor body image and lays out some shocking statistics on the effects that negative body image can have on mothers’ mental health, mother-baby bonding and breastfeeding.


See the full presentation for Professor Amy Brown’s exceptional insight into this vital area of cultural and medical research.

OUR MUST ATTEND EVENT THIS YEAR: IME (International Maternity Expo)

The Changing World of Maternity
The International Maternity Expo (IME) is a unique new filmed international maternity festival for all healthcare professionals, governments, service providers and suppliers working in maternity around the world.

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