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Title:
Infant Feeding Survey, 2005

Subject Categories:
Nutrition - Health
Child development and child rearing - Social stratification and groupings

Depositor(s):
BMRB. Social Research

Principal Investigator(s):
BMRB. Social Research

Sponsor(s):
Information Centre for Health and Social Care
Scottish Executive
Welsh Assembly Government
Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (Northern Ireland)

Abstract:
Government policy has consistently supported breast-feeding as the best way of ensuring a healthy start for infants. In the 1970s, with the rates of breast-feeding declining, the Committee on Medical Aspects of Food and Nutrition Policy (COMA) Working Party was set up to review infant feeding. Recommendations included that mothers should be encouraged to breast-feed, and that they should be discouraged from introducing solid foods to their infants before the age of four months. Subsequent reports about infant feeding have continued to endorse these recommendations.

The COMA Working Party also recommended that a national survey be conducted to establish basic information about infant feeding practices. The first Infant Feeding Survey survey took place in 1975 and provided baseline statistics about feeding practices in England and Wales. Since then, surveys have been conducted every five years. The 1980 and 1985 surveys also covered Scotland, and from the 1990 survey, all four countries of the United Kingdom were included. The 1975-1995 surveys were conducted by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), and the 2000 and 2005 surveys by BMRB Social Research.

The UK Data Archive holds Infant Feeding Survey data from 1985 onwards. A separate survey, Infant Feeding in Asian Families, 1994-1996, covering England only, is held under SN 3759.

The 2005 survey was the first to provide separate estimates for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, as well as for the UK as a whole, and to provide estimates of exclusive breast-feeding (where the baby is given only breast milk, no other liquids or solids).

The survey was based on an initial representative sample of mothers who were selected from all UK births registered during August and September 2005. Three stages of data collection were conducted, with Stage 1 being carried out when babies were around 4-10 weeks old, Stage 2 when they were 4-6 months old, and Stage 3 when they were 8-10 months old. A total of 9,416 mothers completed and returned all three questionnaires.

Further information about the 2005 survey, including links to reports, may be found on the Information Centre for Health and Social Care's Infant Feeding Survey, 2005 web page.


Main Topics:
Topics covered in the questionnaires included: details of pregnancy and birth; how infants are fed, including incidence, prevalence and duration of breast-feeding, and types of milk/other drinks/food given; vitamins consumed by mother and baby; post-natal care and childcare advice received; mothers' intentions and practices regarding breast-feeding, including feeding in public places; smoking and drinking during pregnancy; mothers' intentions to return to or start work; and demographic details of mother.

Coverage:
Time Period Covered: Wave 1 fieldwork: October-December 2005; Wave 2: January-April 2006; Wave 3: May-August 2006.
Country: United Kingdom
Spatial Units: Countries;Government Office Regions (GORs);Strategic Health Authorities (SHAs);Health and Social Services Boards
Observation Units: Individuals
Kind of Data: Numeric data; Individual (micro) level

Universe Sampled:
Location of Units of Observation:National
Population:Mothers who gave birth in the period August-September 2005, resident in the United Kingdom.

Methodology:
Time Dimensions: Repeated cross-sectional study
conducted once every five years
The survey had a longitudinal element in that respondents were surveyed three times during the fieldwork period.
Sampling Procedures: One-stage stratified or systematic random sample
Number of Units: Wave 1: 12,290 cases. Wave 2: 10,814 cases. Wave 3: 9,416 cases.
Method of Data Collection: Postal survey; Self-completion
Weighting: Weighting used. See documentation for details.

Language(s) of Written Materials:
Study Description: English
Study Documentation: English

Access:
Access Conditions: The depositor has specified that registration is required. Available to all registered users. The depositor may be informed about usage.
Availability: ESDS Access and Preservation, UK Data Archive
Contact: Help desk: help@esds.ac.uk

Date of Release:
First Edition: 12 October 2007

Copyright:
Crown copyright material is reproduced with the permission of the Controller of HMSO and the Queen's Printer for Scotland

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