scholarly journals Exploring women’s perceptions of pain when breastfeeding using online forums

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Line Caes ◽  
Katie Abbott ◽  
Sinéad Currie

Abstract Background Despite numerous benefits, many mothers stop breastfeeding soon after birth. A common reason for this is the experience of pain or discomfort. One resource which women use to share their breastfeeding challenges and seek support are online forums. This study aimed to collect data from online forums to explore 1) usage of forums as social support for breastfeeding-related pain; 2) experiences of breastfeeding-related pain; 3) perceptions and strategies to deal with breastfeeding-related pain; and 4) the impact of pain on breastfeeding duration. Methods Data was gathered through searches of online forums based in the UK and USA: Netmums, What to Expect and Mumsnet using key terms: ‘painful breastfeeding’ and ‘sore breastfeeding’. Data extraction took place in July 2018 and included posts made between 2012 and 2018. Data included 123 posts and 193 replies, analysed using thematic analysis. Results The first theme identified was ‘variation in types of pain’, highlighting the variety of painful experiences and their descriptions. In particular, this theme reveals the large variety of different types of pain women experience at different stages throughout their breastfeeding journey, as well as the different pain characteristic they focus on in the description of their experience (i.e., location, sensory or physical aspects). Secondly, the theme ‘perceived causes and explanations for pain’ revealed how women interpret pain experiences either due to a recognised condition or behavioural cause. The third theme ‘cessation of breastfeeding related to pain’ identified. How women experience both physical and psychological struggles (e.g., guilt) related to breastfeeding cessation, with pain being a main factor in considering cessation of breastfeeding. Finally, the theme ‘shared experiences and support’ identified women’s strong need for both practical and emotional support to deal with pain. Many women look for this support through the knowledge exchange offered on the online forums. Conclusions Pain was a key reason for breastfeeding cessation, commonly associated with strong feelings of guilt. The online forums provide a unique form of social support for breastfeeding women to find ways to cope with the pain, while highlighting the urgent need for more appropriate antenatal education on realistic expectation surrounding breastfeeding.

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Line Caes ◽  
Katie Abbott ◽  
Sinead Currie

Abstract Background: Despite benefits, many mothers stop breastfeeding soon after birth. A common reason for this is the experience of pain or discomfort. One resource which women use to share their breastfeeding challenges and seek support are online forums. This study aimed to collect data from online forums to explore 1) usage of forums as social support for breastfeeding related pain; 2) experiences of breastfeeding related pain; 3) perceptions and strategies to deal with breastfeeding related pain; and 4) the impact of pain on breastfeeding duration. Methods : This secondary analysis of data involved searches of online forums: Netmums, What to Expect and Mumsnet using key terms including ‘ painful breastfeeding’ and ‘sore breastfeeding’ . Data included 123 posts and 193 replies, which were analysed using thematic analysis. Results: The first theme identified was ‘variation in types of pain’, highlighting the variety of painful experiences and their descriptions. Secondly, ‘perceived causes and explanations for pain’ revealed pain ascribed being due to a recognised condition or behavioural cause. The third theme ‘cessation of breastfeeding related to pain’ identified both physical and psychological struggles related to breastfeeding and cessation. Finally, ‘shared experiences and support’ identified practical or emotional support to deal with pain. Conclusion: Pain was a key reason for breastfeeding cessation, commonly associated with strong feelings of guilt. The online forums provide a unique form of social support for breastfeeding women to find ways to cope with the pain, while highlighting the urgent need for more appropriate antenatal education on realistic expectation surrounding breastfeeding.


2021 ◽  
pp. 089198872199681
Author(s):  
Kerry Hanna ◽  
Clarissa Giebel ◽  
Hilary Tetlow ◽  
Kym Ward ◽  
Justine Shenton ◽  
...  

Background: To date, there appears to be no evidence on the longer-term impacts caused by COVID-19 and its related public health restrictions on some of the most vulnerable in our societies. The aim of this research was to explore the change in impact of COVID-19 public health measures on the mental wellbeing of people living with dementia (PLWD) and unpaid carers. Method: Semi-structured, follow-up telephone interviews were conducted with PLWD and unpaid carers between June and July 2020. Participants were asked about their experiences of accessing social support services during the pandemic, and the impact of restrictions on their daily lives. Results: 20 interviews were conducted and thematically analyzed, which produced 3 primary themes concerning emotional responses and impact to mental health and wellbeing during the course of the pandemic: 1) Impact on mental health during lockdown, 2) Changes to mental health following easing of public health, and 3) The long-term effect of public health measures. Conclusions: The findings from this research shed light on the longer-term psychological impacts of the UK Government’s public health measures on PLWD and their carers. The loss of social support services was key in impacting this cohort mentally and emotionally, displaying a need for better psychological support, for both carers and PLWD.


2020 ◽  
pp. 137-160
Author(s):  
Katherine E. Smith ◽  
Justyna Bandola-Gill ◽  
Nasar Meer ◽  
Ellen Stewart ◽  
Richard Watermeyer

This chapter focuses on academics working in university-based groups that have been charged with, and funded to achieve, knowledge translation and research impact. These are, we suggest, academics working at the vanguard of the impact agenda, who we might consider as experimental subjects from whom we can learn. This chapter includes a summary of the types of knowledge brokerage roles and organisations that have been created in the UK and the perceived and stated rationales for these new roles and organisations, and an analysis of interview data providing insights into the perspectives of academics working within two such groups.


2011 ◽  
Vol 25 (6) ◽  
pp. 483-492 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dave Chapman ◽  
Helen Lawton Smith ◽  
Peter Wood ◽  
Timothy Barnes ◽  
Saverio Romeo

Over the last decade policies framing the enterprise agenda for UK higher education institutions (HEIs) have consistently emphasized the potential impact of successful universities on both regional and national economies. Such policies have been backed by significant public funding to ensure that the UK HEI sector is able to compete globally in the creation and exploitation of cutting-edge science. Collectively, these initiatives have led to the development of a ‘third mission’ for universities – increasing the pace and impact of knowledge-exchange activities – while simultaneously maintaining and improving their more traditional research and teaching activities. Previous studies have demonstrated the contribution of universities to the growth of high-technology clusters as well as to knowledge exchange activities more generally. However, the extent to which these activities, particularly the formation of new university-related companies, deliver benefits to particular regions and cities is imperfectly understood. As a consequence, the economic and social impact of companies originating in universities in the UK is generally under-reported by official surveys, which frequently fail to capture details of the trajectories of such companies after formation. These considerations form the context for this paper, which presents the results from a detailed study of the impact of science and technology based academic spin-offs from a cross-section of London's HEIs.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Supreet Mann ◽  
Michael C Carter

BACKGROUND Online support forums allow users to seek advice, information, and emotional support on a variety of issues. Today’s parents navigate unique stressors both off- and on-line, and online forums can provide parents with the social support they need to address contemporary parenting issues. Increased social support can have a positive effect on mental health, including decreasing depressive symptomatology and acting as a buffer to stress. Online support forums may provide parents with increased anonymity to discuss sensitive topics and may provide minority parents with a larger social network for advice seeking. It is, therefore, critical that we examine online support forums to better understand the role that social support might play in these spaces and the way parent posts may influence response. OBJECTIVE Research examining social support processes in parenting forums is lacking. This study examines the interpersonal support process within the largest Reddit parenting forum, r/Parenting, to understand how anonymity plays a role in emotional self-disclosure of the parent-poster and subsequent commenter support. METHODS Comments and posts made to r/Parenting were collected using Reddit’s API in February of 2020 with a final sample of 118,277 posts and 697,095 comments. RESULTS Results suggest the use of throwaway accounts is an important factor in the way emotional self-disclosure occurs both in posts and comments. Our data evidenced that in an online forum for parents to seek advice, information, and support, the use of throwaway accounts was found to be an important factor in the degree of ESD included in both posts and comments. Additionally, there was a direct and positive relationship between the ESD of posts and ESD of comments. CONCLUSIONS This suggests that in contemporary society, online spaces may offer parents increased anonymity and greater affordances when it comes to connecting with others, and thus operate as critical venues for social support. We evidenced that one feature that affords users with a greater degree of anonymity online (i.e., pseudonyms) serve as critical component in online support seeking among parents, impacting both the process of support seeking and reception of social support over one of the most popular parenting support forums online, r/Parenting. This signals an evolution in the way’s parents seek social support from others. This paves the way for further research examining interpersonal processes and the impact online support has on family communication through parent support.


2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 310-348 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cathy Parker ◽  
Nikos Ntounis ◽  
Steve Millington ◽  
Simon Quin ◽  
Fernando Rey Castillo-Villar

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to document the results and the impact of the ESRC-funded High Street UK 2020 (HSUK2020), a project designed to take the existing academic knowledge relating to retail and high street change directly to UK High Streets, to improve local decision-making and, ultimately, their vitality and viability. Design/methodology/approach Through a systematic literature review, and by following the tenets of engaged scholarship, the authors identified 201 factors that influence the vitality and viability of town centres. Through the consensus-building Delphi technique, a panel of 20 retail experts identified the top 25 priorities for action. Findings Taking a place management approach led to the development of a more strategic framework for regeneration, which consisted of repositioning, reinventing, rebranding and restructuring strategies (4R’s of regeneration). Collaboration with the project towns resulted in identification of the strategy area that would add the most value, and the impact of the 4R’s and the top 25 priorities is demonstrated via numerous town examples. Originality/value Knowledge exchange projects, such as High Street UK2020, have an important contribution to make, not by developing even more theory that is unlikely to get utilised, instead their contribution is to bring existing theory into practical use.


2018 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 231-239 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claire Turbutt ◽  
Janet Richardson ◽  
Clare Pettinger

Abstract Background Obesity is the greatest health issue for this generation; schools have improved food offered within their grounds. The built environment surrounding schools and pupils’ journeys home have not received the same level of attention. This review identified papers on impacts of hot food takeaways surrounding schools in the UK. Methods Methods were informed by the PRISMA (QUORUM) guidelines for systematic reviews. Searches were completed in 12 databases. Results A total of 14 papers were included and quality assured before data extraction. Three descriptive themes were found; descriptions of hot food takeaway’s geography and impacts concerning schools, strategic food policy and pupils reported food behaviour. Conclusions Most included studies compared anthropometric measures with geographical location of hot food takeaways to find correlations between environment and childhood obesity. There was good evidence of more hot food takeaways in deprived areas and children who spend time in deprived neighbourhoods tend to eat more fast food and have higher BMIs. Few studies were able to quantify the correlation between school’s environment and obesity amongst pupils. This lack of evidence is likely a factor of the studies’ ability to identify the correlation rather than lack of a correlation between the two variables.


2018 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 734-754 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Luisa Granados ◽  
Ana Magdalena Rivera

Purpose Despite the importance gained by social enterprises (SEs) and the increased number of social enterprise networks (SENs) in the UK, there is a paucity of research into the role of these networks in enhancing the sector and creating value. The purpose of this paper is to provide empirical evidence assessing this value. Design/methodology/approach The assessment and insights were derived through a concurrent mixed method data collection strategy with 241 responses from members of SEs in the UK. Findings In terms of frequency, the use of SENs is still sporadic, denoting an immature stage of network lifecycle development. Moreover, it was identified that usage was affected primarily by the perceived usefulness of the information available. The ultimate value created was primarily of an informative nature rather than knowledge exchange. Practical implications A framework is developed describing the structure, content and interaction dimensions of value of SENs. The understanding of this value offers opportunities to shape government interventions and current practices of SENs in assisting SEs and providing an active, knowledge sharing community. Originality/value By exploring the value perceived by social entrepreneurs of being part of an SEN, the paper considered an under-researched area of SE literature that can maximised the impact of the sector.


2020 ◽  
Vol 187 (9) ◽  
pp. 357-357
Author(s):  
Lucy Alice Coyne ◽  
Camille Bellet ◽  
Sophia M Latham ◽  
Diana Williams

BackgroundReports of disease and production losses associated with Fasciola hepatica, the common liver fluke, have increased in recent years. Resistance to triclabendazole, one of the principal veterinary medicines used to prevent losses, has been reported and is now considered widespread in fluke endemic regions of the UK.MethodsThirteen farmers participated in a trial in 2013 and the triclabendazole resistance status was obtained for each farm. Based on these results, a knowledge exchange programme on fluke control was delivered to nearly 100 farmers in the region. In this follow-up study, 11 farmers involved in the original trial, participated in semistructured in-depth qualitative interviews in July 2017.ResultsOverall, participants identified benefits from participating in the 2013 trial, gaining information about triclabendazole resistance on their farms and knowledge about fluke control. The information on their farm’s resistance status was a driver for changing their liver fluke control programmes. Factors such as habitual and repetitive behaviours, grazing restrictions due to agri-environmental schemes, economic pressures and climate change were identified that could impede or prevent the adoption of new control strategies.ConclusionsThe study highlights the significance of resistance to triclabendazole and the impact of knowledge exchange programmes in changing liver fluke control practices.


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