Researchers at Wolverhampton University are gathering data on Holding Time’s impact on the community online and offline through surveys about breastfeeding attitudes
In this BLOG post Dr Lisa J. Orchard, Senior Lecturer in Psychology at the Faculty of Education, Health and Wellbeing at the University of Wolverhampton, introduces their innovative study, designed to measure the impact of the Holding Time Project on viewers. Please add your data to the survey!
Breastfeeding statistics are difficult to obtain within the UK, but we do know that only a tiny minority of infants are breastfed up to the ‘two years and beyond’ milestone as advocated by the World Health Organisation. Furthermore, many families start to breastfeed but are unable to continue to do so, often due to a lack of support. This can be very upsetting for new families; particularly if they feel such a choice is out of their control. As psychology researchers at The University of Wolverhampton we (Dr Wendy Nicholls and Dr Lisa Orchard) are keen to improve access to breastfeeding information and help families feel more able to fulfill their breastfeeding goals. In order to do this we need to understand the reasons why breastfeeding may be difficult, and explore new strategies to help families feel more prepared and confident as they start their breastfeeding journeys.
Our previous research has explored the role of social media in providing breastfeeding support and information. As part of this research we found that breastfeeding role models can be really useful for building confidence and belonging. Those breastfeeding find it particularly valuable to see other people who look like them being able to successfully breastfeed. When we heard about The Holding Time project we were really taken by the beauty of the images; especially given our previous research interests. We are really curious about the impact of such a project. We are working with Holding Time’s creator Lisa Creagh to gather opinions and thoughts about the work so we can better understand the importance of sharing breastfeeding imagery. If you have time to complete our research questionnaire your thoughts about the project would be most appreciated.
- Dr Lisa J. Orchard, 2022
Read more about the project in Wolverhampton here.
