Navigating Infant Food Insecurity: A qualitative investigation of low-income parents infant feeding intentions and practices in the UK

Food insecurity is increasingly being recognised as a public health issue in high income countries, exacerbated for many by the recent cost-of-living crisis. The costs associated with eating in line with government recommendations, mean that some households, including low income households with children, may be more vulnerable to food insecurity than others. Since 2021, and the emergence of the UK’s ‘cost-of-living crisis’, food charities have reported increased requests for support from families with young children. However, the experience of food insecurity amongst families with very young infants remains poorly understood. This study explores UK parents’ and carers’ lived experiences and the influences that they feel impact or impacted infant feeding, associated with the current cost of living crisis. Semi-structured interviews (N = 11) were conducted with parents’/ carers’, living in Scotland, who self-identified as living with food insecurity and were or had been responsible for feeding an infant aged 0-6 months born any time from January 2022. Using thematic analysis, seven main themes were identified: 1) The struggle to afford food and formula in the face of reduced income, 2) Hard work and sacrifice, parents' actions to secure food for their baby, 3) Don’t ask, don’t tell: limited to no conversations about finances or formula with healthcare professionals, 4) Positive views about breastfeeding but challenges dictate practice in reality, 5) Earning but struggling: a lack of financial support for parents in work, 6) Income shortfall struggles: the provision of instrumental support from family and third sector organisations, 7) Parent experiences of stigma and guilt accessing and receiving support. For families experiencing food insecurity, economic and social determinants interact to disrupt nutritional patterns. Parents struggle to afford food to feed their families and infant formula, and report sacrificing their own food needs in order to do so. Conversations with healthcare professionals around new parent’s financial circumstances and infant formula could provide an opportunity for intervention and support. Families and third sector organisations often provide financial and instrumental support for new parents living on a low income, however, new parents described stigma associated accessing certain types of support. Clinical trial number: not applicable.