Telemedicine as a support system to encourage breast-feeding in Northern Ireland

Bottle-feeding is common in Northern Ireland. Many mothers claim that if they had received more consistent advice and support from health professionals, they might have breast-fed for longer and more successfully1–3. Professionals’ lack of effectiveness is therefore one of the barriers to successful breast-feeding4,5. The reasons why women stop breast-feeding have been explored in many studies, which have concluded that they include: physical factors such as sore and cracked nipples6,7; perceived insufficient milk supply7–9; lack of professional and social support10,11; and inadequate antenatal education and knowledge10. Most important, however, there is evidence to suggest that several of these problems might be prevented if health professionals were to show mothers how to position their baby correctly, and to offer more practical and emotional support12,13. It has been observed that there is an important relationship between successful breast-feeding by the first-time mother and guidance and encouragement on the part of the health-care professionals before and after the birth of the child14,15. For breast-feeding to succeed, support from professionals should continue even after the mother has returned home from hospital16. To assess the potential benefits of telemedicine to support breast-feeding mothers, we undertook a pilot study using commercially available analogue videoconferencing equipment (Figs 1 and 2). The study was conducted from November 1998 to April 1999 in the maternity unit of the Ulster Hospital and in the subjects’ own homes. The aim of the study was to establish a telemedicine link in the homes of women who had decided to breast-feed, and to examine the feasibility of using it to provide informational, emotional and instrumental support. The women were initially approached about the study by the lactation consultant in the maternity unit. The woman’s experience of breast-feeding and the Case report .................................... .................................... .................................... ..................................... ....