TU Dublin and Bainne Beatha launch new breastfeeding research questionnaire

Published: 25 Jan, 2022

Bainne Beatha, the breastfeeding advocacy group, has teamed up with Dr Liz O Sullivan, Technological University Dublin, to launch a new questionnaire aimed at capturing the experiences of breastfeeding support within the Irish healthcare system.

The questionnaire is looking to gain an insight into the experiences within the maternity unit; the support received from GPs and Public Health Nurses, and the community. It is particularly interested in hearing from parents who breastfed or considered breastfeeding, who gave birth between January 2019 and December 2021.

Speaking about the survey, Deborah Byrne of Bainne Beatha said, “I created a questionnaire for some friends in 2020, and was overwhelmed to receive responses from the wider breastfeeding community. Bainne Beatha then utilised the responses as best we could to lobby for change. It made perfect sense to pursue a second, more robust piece of research in partnership with an academic institution such as TU Dublin. This will enable us to better understand the experiences of breastfeeding across the wider healthcare systems and give a solid piece of evidence to present to our policy-makers.”

“Bainne Beatha was born out of personal experiences of a group of mothers, and we advocate for all those who want to breastfeed, to ensure they receive the right support at the right time. The voice of  the lived experience is central to our campaign, and this survey will ensure we depict those experiences, accurately and sensitively.”

Dr Liz O’Sullivan, Lecturer in Nutrition, TU Dublin added, “We are thrilled to be partnering with Bainne Beatha on this important piece of research, which is key to getting a robust understanding of the real experiences of breastfeeding support in our healthcare system. I would encourage anybody who gave birth between January 2019 and December 2021, and who chose to breastfeed, or wished to breastfeed, to engage with the survey.”

The survey will run for 4 weeks, with the preliminary results due in late Spring 2022. 

Complete the Survey