Fed Family Lab

Project Overview

The aim of this research project is to better understand how food insecurity shapes how babies are fed in families with young children in Nova Scotia. The overall objective of the research is to learn from non-breastfeeding caregivers about feeding and use their stories, along with what we know about breastfeeding and food insecurity, to develop, test, and pilot a new survey tool on infant food insecurity in Nova Scotia. The results of the research will inform health equity policy and best practice recommendations for caregivers to support the conditions necessary for optimal infant feeding.

There are 3 phases to the project:

PHASE I

Qualitative semi-structured interviews with food insecure caregivers in Nova Scotia to explore non-breastfeeding practices and information seeking regarding non-breast infant feeding

PHASE II

Survey design process, pre-test and collaboration with caregivers

PHASE III

We developed an infant feeding online survey for caregivers of children 0-24 months in Nova Scotia

The project is currently in the data analysis phase. Results will be presented here soon.

Publications

Francis, J., Mildon, A., Tarasuk, V., & Frank, L. (2024). Household food insecurity is negatively associated with achievement of prenatal intentions to feed only breast milk in the first six months postpartum. Frontiers in Nutrition, 11. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2024.1287347