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Amy Brown

Professor of Child Public Health, Swansea University

A psychologist by background, Amy explores psychological, social and cultural influences upon maternal and infant health and wellbeing through pregnancy, birth and the early years.

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. 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. Her research seeks to develop interventions to improve infant feeding choices targeted at wider society rather than individual mothers alone.

Amy has a particular interest in how societal perceptions and understanding of normal baby behaviour can affect how babies are fed and cared for in their early months. She seeks to tackle myths around the 'good baby' who sleeps and needs little interaction, and instead promote better support and value for new parents in order for them to have more space to care responsively for their baby and their needs. She has developed a series of animations based on here research findings to help share messages about what is normal for babies, and how we can better support parents
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoflLgxNjBdyr7i2Zx-ArwTEU2PwXWgf4

Finally, Amy's research examines influences on maternal mental health and wellbeing during pregnancy, birth and the early years. She has published papers exploring the interaction between birth and infant feeding and subsequent maternal well being (including postnatal depression, maternal identity and parenting confidence). She has also examined how messages in baby care books, social media, and parenting forums can improve or damage maternal wellbeing in the early years.

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

Baby formula preparation machines might not reach NHS recommended temperatures for killing bacteria – new research

Oct 06, 2023 06:53 am UTC| Health

When you have a new baby, it can feel as though there are suddenly thousands of things to worry about. One of the biggest concerns for parents in the early weeks is feeding. Our new study has raised questions about one...

Sleep-training and babies: why 'crying it out' is best avoided

Nov 19, 2019 02:45 am UTC| Insights & Views Health

A full nights sleep will be near the top of many parents wish lists. Sleep deprivation is no fun and many parents find themselves turning to baby care books that promise to train their child to sleep through the...

Some baby care books are giving advice that goes against safe infant care guidelines

Jul 07, 2019 15:14 pm UTC| Insights & Views

Becoming a new parent can be one of the most stressful things you ever do. Its normal to feel blindsided between what you thought it would be like, and the reality. But it can lead to all sorts of emotions from panic and...

Promoting but not protecting breastfeeding is destroying mothers' mental health

Oct 09, 2018 13:18 pm UTC| Insights & Views Health

If you believed some newspapers you would think that breastfeeding was inherently bad for maternal mental health. Headlines regularly shout about pressure to breastfeed and breastfeeding bullies making mums feel anxious...

Economy

Beyond the spin, beyond the handouts, here’s how to get a handle on what’s really happening on budget night

Three weeks from now, some of us will be presented with a mountain of budget papers, and just about all of us will get to hear about them on radio, TV or news websites on budget night. The quickest way to find out what...

What if the Reserve Bank itself has been feeding inflation? An economist explains

Heres something for the board of the Reserve Bank of Australia to ponder as it meets next month to set interest rates. It has pushed up rates on 13 occasions since it began its attempt to restrain inflation in May...

China’s new world order: looking for clues from Xi’s recent meetings with foreign leaders

There is broad consensus that Chinese foreign policy has become more assertive and more centralised in the decade since Xi Jinping has ascended to the top of Chinas leadership. This has also meant that Chinese foreign...

How India’s economy has fared under ten years of Narendra Modi

More than 960 million Indians will head to the polls in the worlds biggest election between April 19 and early June. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is seeking a third...

EU enlargement: What does the future hold?

To widen or to deepen. This has been one of the longstanding dilemmas throughout European Union (EU) history, and a perennial sticking point in the unending process of European integration. In its time, the UK...

Politics

Labour can afford to be far more ambitious with its economic policies – voters are on board

To say that the Labour party is flying high in the polls is something of an understatement. But despite its consistent lead against the Tories, the opposition finds itself in a rather odd position: on the cusp of power but...

Joe Biden Proposes Record 44.6% Capital Gains Tax in Latest Budget Plan That May Favor Cryptocurrencies

President Joe Biden has proposed raising the capital gains tax to an unprecedented 44.6% in a bold fiscal move, targeting the wealthiest Americans. This hike is part of his 2025 budget proposal to reduce income...

Georgia is sliding towards autocracy after government moves to force through bill on ‘foreign agents’

Georgias ruling party attempted to pass a controversial bill on foreign agents in March 2023. The law would have required civil society groups and the media to register as being under foreign influence if they receive...

Opening statements are the most important part of a trial – as lawyers in Trump’s hush money case know well

Though Hollywood movies about courtroom dramas often glamorize the closing arguments given by lawyers, in reality the opening statement is likely the most important single event of a trial. Such was the case in the hush...

South Korean President Yoon faces foreign policy challenges after the National Assembly election

South Koreas parliamentary election of April 10, 2024, was widely seen as a referendum on President Yoon Suk Yeols first two years in office. That being the case, the nation collectively expressed its strong...

Science

Peter Higgs was one of the greats of particle physics. He transformed what we know about the building blocks of the universe

Peter Higgs, who gave his name to the subatomic particle known as the Higgs boson, has died aged 94. He was always a modest man, especially when considering that he was one of the greats of particle physics the area of...

Could a telescope ever see the beginning of time? An astronomer explains

The James Webb Space Telescope, or JWST for short, is one of the most advanced telescopes ever built. Planning for JWST began over 25 years ago, and construction efforts spanned over a decade. It was launched into space on...

US media coverage of new science less likely to mention researchers with African and East Asian names

When one Chinese national recently petitioned the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to become a permanent resident, he thought his chances were pretty good. As an accomplished biologist, he figured that news...

If life exists on Jupiter’s moon Europa, scientists might soon be able to detect it

Europa is one of the largest of more than 90 moons in orbit around the planet Jupiter. It is also one of the best places to look for alien life. Often termed an ocean world by scientists, observations to date strongly...

Exploding stars are rare but emit torrents of radiation − if one happened close enough to Earth, it could threaten life on the planet

Stars like the Sun are remarkably constant. They vary in brightness by only 0.1% over years and decades, thanks to the fusion of hydrogen into helium that powers them. This process will keep the Sun shining steadily for...

Technology

TikTok Vows to Fight US Ban After Biden Signed Bill

TikTok is facing a total ban in the United States after President Joe Biden signed the bill forcing ByteDance to sell its short-form video hosting service app. The president signed the new bill into law on Wednesday, April...

Mercedes-Benz to Release Luxury Electric Van in China

Mercedes-Benz, the German luxury and commercial vehicle manufacturer, plans to release a luxury electric van model in China. This information was shared by the companys head of the vans unit, Mathias Geisen, to the local...

Elon Musk vs Australia: global content take-down orders can harm the internet if adopted widely

Do Australian courts have the right to decide what foreign citizens, located overseas, view online on a foreign-owned platform? Anyone inclined to answer yes to this question should perhaps also ask themselves whether...

BlackRock Bitcoin ETF Sees Zero Inflows; SEC Delays Ether ETF Decision

BlackRocks Bitcoin ETF registered zero daily inflows for the first time since its inception. At the same time, the SEC delayed its decision on a major Ether ETF, highlighting uncertainty in the cryptocurrency...

Samourai Wallet Founders Arrested, Crypto Markets Tumble Amid Regulatory Heat

The cryptocurrency market dipped significantly after the U.S. Department of Justice arrested Samourai Wallets CEO and CTO, exacerbating volatility amid geopolitical tensions and the recent Bitcoin halving. Bitcoin and...