Amy's background is in psychology and she now applies psychology to understanding health behaviour and developing behavioural interventions. Amy is particularly interested in infant and maternal health during pregnancy and the first year postpartum and how varied psychological, social and cultural factors can affect decisions and experiences at this time.
Amy specialises in research around how babies are fed; whether they are breast or formula fed, how they are introduced to solid foods and the impact these decisions could have on their long term eating behaviour and weight. Over the last twelve years she has explored how choices made around how babies are fed are rarely simply those suggested by policy as ideal, but instead affected by a multitude of complex factors, often outside the mothers' control.
In particular, her research focusses on why feeding babies is a public health issue, affected heavily by societal and cultural beliefs and behaviours, and therefore why responsibility for feeding should not lie solely with the mother. Interventions to improve infant feeding choices should instead be targeted at wider society.
Her long-term aim is to develop interventions to support new mothers to feel confident, informed and supported in their choices.
Amy is author to two infant feeding books both published by Pinter and Martin.
Breastfeeding Uncovered: Who really decides how we feed our babies
http://www.pinterandmartin.com/breastfeeding-uncovered.html
Why Starting Solids Matters
http://www.pinterandmartin.com/why-starting-solids-matters.html
