World Breastfeeding Week is celebrated every year from 1 to 7 August, not just to encourage breastfeeding, but to raise awareness of the different cultural and socio-economic challenges to breastfeeding that caregivers face world-wide. Nova Scotia has its own challenges. Nova Scotia has among the lowest breastfeeding rates in Canada, with less than one quarter of infants receiving Health Canada’s recommended 6 months of exclusive breastfeeding.

Find our transcript here: https://researchns.ca/beyondresearch-beyond-breast-is-best-infant-feeding-in-nova-scotia-and-cambodia/ 

In Season 1, Episode 3 – Beyond Breast is Best: Infant Feeding in Nova Scotia & Cambodia, we cover: 

1:07 – MAMA Lab and what it does

3:05 – Responsive feeding

3:36 – Why Nova Scotia has some of the lowest numbers of breastfeeding moms in Canada

6:06 – Stigmas and socio-economic factors

6:52 – Breastfeeding supports for new parents

9:09 – How moms are doing during the COVID-19 pandemic and the supports available

12:31 – Cultural differences with breastfeeding recognized in a cross-cultural study

14:32 – Caregivers who are unable to breastfeed and infant feeding

17:02 – Supporting families to do what they want to do

Thank you to our guest:

Dr. Kyly Whitfield is an Associate Professor of Applied Human Nutrition at Mount Saint Vincent University. Dr. Whitfield is the lead researcher of the Milk and Micronutrient Assessment Lab, also known as the MAMA Lab where her and her team are working on a cross-cultural analysis of breastfeeding in Nova Scotia and Cambodia that goes beyond “breast is best” to focus on the supports required to achieve optimal health in both mama and baby.

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