title: Baby-feeding support: a view from the coalface.
abstract: The author gives her views on some of the problems of baby-feeding support in the community. There appear to be inconsistencies in the way "breast-feeding" is defined, which can lead to confusing data and may inflate the figures for hospital breast-feeding rates. Early discharge of mothers after a birth and shortage of community midwives make it more difficult for mothers to establish breast-feeding. Support for both breast-feeding and bottle-feeding mothers is often lacking. The author describes an inclusive support group that welcomes mothers whether they are exclusively breast-feeding, partially breast-feeding, or bottle feeding.
authors.affiliation: Leicestershire County and Rutland Primary Care Trust.
authors.forename: Julia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Vermaak
mesh_terms: D001903:Bottle Feeding / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D001942:Breast Feeding / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003152:Community Health Nursing; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D018673:Nutrition Policy; D012657:Self-Help Groups; D006113:United Kingdom