ABSTRACT
As I discussed in the last chapter, many women in the UK stop breastfeeding before they wish and, in the 2010 survey, only 1% were doing it exclusively at 6 months, the lowest rate in the world! We have a very unhappy situation where many women are not able to meet their infant feeding goals and some feel that they have failed their babies. This can impact on mothers’ relationships with their infants and may lead to poor mental health outcomes for themselves. In this chapter, I will explore how health visitors can support parents to achieve their goals, by becoming aware of their own attitudes and through using non-directive, person-centred counselling skills and motivational interviewing techniques.
