Parental perceptions of feeding practices in five European countries: an exploratory study

Objective: To gain an insight into parental perceptions of infant feeding practices in five European countries. Design: An exploratory investigation using focus group discussions. Various aspects addressed included social and cultural setting for the consumption of food, infant feeding practice and behaviour, consumer health awareness and sources of information, and attitudes towards a healthy infant diet. Setting: Focus group participants were recruited from centres in five countries, Germany, Italy, Scotland, Spain and Sweden, with three focus groups being conducted in each centre. Subjects: A total of 108 parents with infants up to the age of 12 months participated in focus group discussions across these centres. Methods: Focus groups were conducted with participants from centres in five countries. Results: The majority of parents in this study chose to initiate breastfeeding and prepare infant food at home. Parents did not strictly adhere to infant feeding guidelines when introducing complementary foods into their infant's diets. There were crosscultural differences in sources of information on infant feeding practice with the paediatrician in Germany, Italy and Spain. The health visitor in Scotland and the child welfare clinics in Sweden were the most popular sources. Conclusions: A number of cultural differences and similarities in attitudes towards infant feeding practice were revealed. This makes European wide approaches to promoting healthy infant feeding difficult as different infant feeding practices are influenced not only by parental perceptions but also by advice from health professionals and feeding guidelines. Further data need to be available on parents' attitudes and beliefs towards infant feeding practice to investigate further the rationale for differing beliefs and attitudes towards infant feeding practice.