From the moment you share the news that you are pregnant or have a new baby it feels like everyone becomes an expert. Did you see that headline? Did you hear that story on TV? Have you heard the latest about what they say is best?
In a world overflowing with information telling you what is best for you and your baby, making decisions can feel overwhelming. Who do you trust? Who is telling the truth? And how do you know if what they are saying is right for you? How? By becoming your own expert in sorting the media spin and politics from the actual facts and data.
This isnt a book that is going to tell you which decisions to make, or that there is ever one right answer. It is not going to tell you that the same thing is always best for everyone. Instead this is a guide to help you evaluate information and evidence to decide what is right for you, your body and your baby.
In three main parts it will firstly open your eyes to how information is shared in the media and how this can affect our thinking and decision making. Next it will help you spot who is funding, leading and promoting research and how this can affect the content of what is shared.
Finally it will talk you through reading, understanding and evaluating evidence for yourself across topics in pregnancy, birth and caring for babies. Youll learn how to spot weaknesses in methods used, how to determine the real risk for you and your baby, and how wider context and other factors can influence what research means for you.
Information is power. Making your own decisions that are right for you is empowering. #informedisbest
Professor Amy Brown is based in the Department of Public Health, Policy and Social Sciences at Swansea University in the UK where she is Director of LIFT - the centre for Lactation, Infant Feeding and Translation. With a background in psychology, she first became interested in the many barriers women face when breastfeeding after having her first baby. Three babies and a PhD later she has spent the last fifteen years exploring psychological, cultural and societal barriers to breastfeeding, with an emphasis on understanding how we can shift our perception of breastfeeding from an individual mothering issue, to a wider public health problem.
Professor Brown has published over 100 papers exploring the barriers women face in feeding their baby during the first year. In 2016 she published her first book Breastfeeding Uncovered, followed by Why Starting Solids Matters (2017), The Positive Breastfeeding Book (2018) and Informed is Best (2019). She is a regular blogger, aiming to change the way we think about breastfeeding, mothering and caring for our babies.
