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All Outputs (72)

“Work with us… to make it more accessible”. What women with intellectual disabilities want from infant-feeding health resources: An exploratory study (2023)
Journal Article
Douglass, E., Johnson, C., Lucas, G., & Dowling, S. (2023). “Work with us… to make it more accessible”. What women with intellectual disabilities want from infant-feeding health resources: An exploratory study. International Breastfeeding Journal, 18(1), Article 67. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13006-023-00606-9

Background: More women with intellectual disabilities are becoming mothers but fewer are known to breastfeed compared with other women. Women with intellectual disabilities are entitled to accessible antenatal and infant feeding information, yet are... Read More about “Work with us… to make it more accessible”. What women with intellectual disabilities want from infant-feeding health resources: An exploratory study.

Parental engagement with complementary feeding information in the United Kingdom: A qualitative evidence synthesis (2023)
Journal Article
Spurlock, K., Deave, T., Lucas, P. J., & Dowling, S. (2023). Parental engagement with complementary feeding information in the United Kingdom: A qualitative evidence synthesis. Maternal and Child Nutrition, 19(4), Article e13553. https://doi.org/10.1111/mcn.13553

Complementary feeding is the process of introducing solid foods to milk‐fed infants (also known as weaning). Current UK guidance states that complementary feeding should occur around 6 months but not before 4 months. This systematic review explores h... Read More about Parental engagement with complementary feeding information in the United Kingdom: A qualitative evidence synthesis.

Maternal intrapartum fluids and neonatal weight loss in the breastfed infant (2023)
Journal Article
Rich, M., Dowling, S., & Bray, I. (2023). Maternal intrapartum fluids and neonatal weight loss in the breastfed infant. British Journal of Midwifery, 31(6), 344-351. https://doi.org/10.12968/bjom.2023.31.6.344

Background/Aims Significant weight loss during early life can be of serious concern and assessing weight is key in decisions regarding supplementation. However, supplementation is a significant risk factor for early breastfeeding cessation. Recognisi... Read More about Maternal intrapartum fluids and neonatal weight loss in the breastfed infant.

Supporting women with learning disabilities to feed their babies (2023)
Digital Artefact
Douglass, E., Johnson, C., Lucas, G., & Dowling, S. Supporting women with learning disabilities to feed their babies. [Film]

This short film was co-produced with researchers and people with a learning disability to make research findings accessible. The research looked at supporting women with learning disabilities to make decisions about how to feed their babies.

Supporting women with learning disabilities in infant feeding decisions: UK health care professionals' experiences (2022)
Journal Article
Douglass, E., Dowling, S., Johnson, C., & Lucas, G. (2023). Supporting women with learning disabilities in infant feeding decisions: UK health care professionals' experiences. Maternal and Child Nutrition, 19(1), e13432. https://doi.org/10.1111/mcn.13432

Women with learning disabilities are less likely to breastfeed than other women. They may find it hard to understand or learn feeding techniques or know that they have infant feeding choices. This population may be supported during their pregnancies... Read More about Supporting women with learning disabilities in infant feeding decisions: UK health care professionals' experiences.

Supporting women with learning disabilities in infant feeding decisions: A scoping review (2022)
Journal Article
Johnson, C., Douglass, E., Lucas, G., & Dowling, S. (2022). Supporting women with learning disabilities in infant feeding decisions: A scoping review. Maternal and Child Nutrition, 18(2), Article e13318. https://doi.org/10.1111/mcn.13318

Mothers with learning disabilities face many challenges during the perinatal period including preparing for and establishing infant feeding. Evidence shows that women with learning disabilities are less likely to breastfeed than other mothers. A scop... Read More about Supporting women with learning disabilities in infant feeding decisions: A scoping review.

An ‘incredible community’ or ‘disgusting’ and ‘weird’? Representations of breastmilk sharing in worldwide news media (2021)
Journal Article
Dowling, S., & Grant, A. (2021). An ‘incredible community’ or ‘disgusting’ and ‘weird’? Representations of breastmilk sharing in worldwide news media. Maternal and Child Nutrition, 17(3), Article e13139. https://doi.org/10.1111/mcn.13139

© 2021 The Authors. Maternal & Child Nutrition published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Breastmilk sharing via the internet has become more popular in recent years, with a resultant increase in media attention. It is actively discouraged by public hea... Read More about An ‘incredible community’ or ‘disgusting’ and ‘weird’? Representations of breastmilk sharing in worldwide news media.

What are the holistic experiences of adults living long-term with the consequences of cancer and its treatment? A qualitative evidence synthesis (2020)
Journal Article
Rogers, K., McCabe, C., & Dowling, S. (2021). What are the holistic experiences of adults living long-term with the consequences of cancer and its treatment? A qualitative evidence synthesis. European Journal of Oncology Nursing, 50, Article 101864. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejon.2020.101864

© 2020 Elsevier Ltd Purpose: The number of people living with and beyond cancer is increasing; a significant number of these people will experience the long-term and late effects of cancer and its treatment. Research into this group has been identifi... Read More about What are the holistic experiences of adults living long-term with the consequences of cancer and its treatment? A qualitative evidence synthesis.

What are the holistic experiences of adults living long-term with the consequences of cancer and its treatment? A qualitative evidence synthesis. (2020)
Presentation / Conference
Rogers, K., McCabe, C., & Dowling, S. (2020, February). What are the holistic experiences of adults living long-term with the consequences of cancer and its treatment? A qualitative evidence synthesis. Poster presented at British Psychosocial Oncology Society Conference, Edinburgh, UK

Background The number of people living with and beyond cancer is increasing (Linden, Love, Bowman and Maher, 2016). The nature of cancer and its treatment means a significant number of these people will experience the long-term and late effects of... Read More about What are the holistic experiences of adults living long-term with the consequences of cancer and its treatment? A qualitative evidence synthesis..

Moving beyond the 'yuk' factor: health professionals and understanding risk in relation to human milk exchange (2020)
Presentation / Conference
Dowling, S. (2020, January). Moving beyond the 'yuk' factor: health professionals and understanding risk in relation to human milk exchange. Presented at Human Milk: Bodies, Boundaries and Barriers, University of Bristol

This presentation looks at human milk exchange: what it is; where, how and why is happens; meaning and value of human milk; understandings of risk and how health professionals and women make sense of them.

What do we know from current evidence about the experience of women who breastfeed beyond twelve months of age?  A systematic review of qualitative evidence (2019)
Presentation / Conference
Dowling, S., & Cooper, T. (2019, November). What do we know from current evidence about the experience of women who breastfeed beyond twelve months of age?  A systematic review of qualitative evidence

The duration of breastfeeding varies around the world; in developed nations breastfeeding beyond infancy is unusual and hard to measure, with the numbers in the UK likely to be very small. There is limited understanding of how women experience breast... Read More about What do we know from current evidence about the experience of women who breastfeed beyond twelve months of age?  A systematic review of qualitative evidence.

Important times for breastfeeding support: a qualitative study of mothers’ experiences (2019)
Journal Article
Fraser, M., Dowling, S., Oxford, L., Ellis, N., & Jones, M. (2020). Important times for breastfeeding support: a qualitative study of mothers’ experiences. International Journal of Health Promotion and Education, 58(2), 71-82. https://doi.org/10.1080/14635240.2019.1676811

Breastfeeding rates in the UK remain persistently low, with a rapid fall off during the first 6–8 weeks. The work of healthcare and public health practitioners impacts on mothers’ experiences of infant feeding. Support, promotion and protection of br... Read More about Important times for breastfeeding support: a qualitative study of mothers’ experiences.

Local Landscapes of Breastfeeding: A comparison of breastfeeding amongst mothers in low- and high-income neighborhoods in Bristol, UK (2019)
Journal Article
Isherwood, J., Boyer, K., & Dowling, S. (2019). Local Landscapes of Breastfeeding: A comparison of breastfeeding amongst mothers in low- and high-income neighborhoods in Bristol, UK. Health and Place, 59, Article 102125. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthplace.2019.05.003

© 2019 This paper compares experiences of breastfeeding outside the home for women living in low-income and high-income neighborhoods of the same city. Our findings are based on an analysis of 22 interviews with breastfeeding mothers (11 in each of t... Read More about Local Landscapes of Breastfeeding: A comparison of breastfeeding amongst mothers in low- and high-income neighborhoods in Bristol, UK.

What do we know about the experiences of women in the twenty-first century who breastfeed beyond 12 months of age? A systematic review of qualitative evidence (2019)
Presentation / Conference
Dowling, S., & Cooper, T. (2019, June). What do we know about the experiences of women in the twenty-first century who breastfeed beyond 12 months of age? A systematic review of qualitative evidence. Paper presented at Nutrition and Nurture in Infancy and Childhood: Bio-cultural Perspectives, Grange-over-Sands, England

Abstract: Introduction: Despite good quality evidence (Victora et al, 2016) and recommendations, the duration of breastfeeding varies around the world. In developed nations breastfeeding beyond infancy is unusual and hard to measure. In the UK the... Read More about What do we know about the experiences of women in the twenty-first century who breastfeed beyond 12 months of age? A systematic review of qualitative evidence.

'Betwixt and between': Women's experiences of breastfeeding long-term (2018)
Book Chapter
Dowling, S. (2018). 'Betwixt and between': Women's experiences of breastfeeding long-term. In S. Dowling, D. Pontin, & K. Boyer (Eds.), Social experiences of breastfeeding: Buliding bridges between research, policy and practice (55-70). Policy Press

This chapter draws on my research with women who breastfeed for longer than is usual in the UK, where a minority of women are still breastfeeding at six months and an unknown number breastfeed into the second year and beyone (McAndrew et al, 2012). T... Read More about 'Betwixt and between': Women's experiences of breastfeeding long-term.

Social Experiences of Breastfeeding: Building Bridges Between Research, Policy and Practice (2018)
Book
Boyer, K., Pontin, D., & Dowling, S. (Eds.). (2018). Social Experiences of Breastfeeding: Building Bridges Between Research, Policy and Practice. Bristol: Policy Press

This book brings together international academics, policy makers and practitioners to build bridges between the real-world and scholarship on breastfeeding. It asks the question: How can the latest social science research into breastfeeding be use... Read More about Social Experiences of Breastfeeding: Building Bridges Between Research, Policy and Practice.

Gender dynamics in the donation field: human tissue donation for research, therapy and feeding (2018)
Journal Article
Kent, J., Fannin, M., & Dowling, S. (2019). Gender dynamics in the donation field: human tissue donation for research, therapy and feeding. Sociology of Health and Illness, 41(3), 567-584. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9566.12803

© 2018 The Authors. Sociology of Health & Illness published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Foundation for SHIL. This paper examines how gender dynamics shape human tissue donation for research and for human health. Drawing on research inve... Read More about Gender dynamics in the donation field: human tissue donation for research, therapy and feeding.

'A little bit offended and slightly patronised': Parents' experiences of National Child Measurement Programme feedback (2018)
Journal Article
Gainsbury, A., & Dowling, S. (2018). 'A little bit offended and slightly patronised': Parents' experiences of National Child Measurement Programme feedback. Public Health Nutrition, 21(15), 2884-2892. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1368980018001556

© The Authors 2018Â. Objective To develop a descriptive account of parents' experiences of written feedback from the National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP), based on primary data collected from semi-structured focus groups.Design Four focus grou... Read More about 'A little bit offended and slightly patronised': Parents' experiences of National Child Measurement Programme feedback.

'The mum has to live with the decision much more than the dad'; a qualitative study of men's perceptions of their influence on breastfeeding decision-making (2018)
Journal Article
Hounsome, L., & Dowling, S. (2018). 'The mum has to live with the decision much more than the dad'; a qualitative study of men's perceptions of their influence on breastfeeding decision-making. International Breastfeeding Journal, 13(1), https://doi.org/10.1186/s13006-018-0145-1

© 2018 The Author(s). Background: Although breastfeeding is widely acknowledged as the normal method of infant feeding, there are large variations in rates of initiation and duration. Several factors are linked to the likelihood of breastfeeding init... Read More about 'The mum has to live with the decision much more than the dad'; a qualitative study of men's perceptions of their influence on breastfeeding decision-making.