Perceptions and influences surrounding breastfeeding practices within a Pakistani community in the UK: a qualitative analysis.

Abstract

Many cultures encourage breastfeeding, yet formula milk is often given by choice in the UK. The Pakistani culture, however, exhibits high rates of breastfeeding as normal practice (1). The influence of the UK culture of formula feeding on a Pakistani mother's decisions to breastfeed was investigated. The aim of this qualitative study was to compare the views and experiences of breastfeeding from British Born Pakistani mothers (BBPMs) with Pakistani born mothers (PBMs; immigrated within last 10 years) in order to ascertain differences in influencing factors to breastfed.