Maternal, Parental and Infant Nutrition and Nurture (MAINN)

We adopt a biopsychosocial perspective that recognises the interactions between biological, psychological, and sociocultural factors in relation to parental, infant, child and family physical and mental health.

We are also interested in the nature of the relationship that is engendered between parents and infants because of various kinds of nutritive and nurturing behaviours, such as breastfeeding.

We also focus on the care of the preterm infant and ways to improve parental psychosocial health. Our aim is to enhance the parent–infant relationship in the neonatal unit context. The agenda of MAINN is firmly grounded in public health.

We have worked on WHO, UNICEF, EU, UK Government (DH), NHS, National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), British Council, Youth Endowment Fund, Natural England, Wellcome Trust, British Academy, and Australian Research Council (ARC) funded projects.

This research group contributes to the cross-disciplinary research sub-theme Evidence for Societal Change.

Strategic objectives:

To conduct distinctive, interdisciplinary, internationally recognised biopsychosocial research and scholarship in relation to parental, infant, child and family physical and mental health.
To engage with local, national and international strategic initiatives.
To embrace public health, social exclusion, and diversity agendas regarding nutrition, nurture and psychosocial wellbeing.
To maintain and build upon strong and stable external partnerships and collaborations to include the DH, NHS, NICE, UNICEF and WHO.

With a team of multidisciplinary staff and PhD students working internationally, nationally and locally on a range of projects, areas of expertise include:

Global politics of infant and young child feeding
Supportive interventions for the protection, promotion and support of breastfeeding
Maternal and child nutrition
Biopsychosocial perspectives on the physical and mental health of parents, infants, children, and families and with a focus on vulnerable and marginalised populations.
Parental psychosocial well-being and parent–infant relationships in Neonatal Intensive Care Units

Professor Gill Thomson - Professor of Perinatal Health
Dr Victoria Hall Moran - Reader/Associate Professor of Maternal and Child Nutrition
Dr Nicola Crossland - Research Associate
Dr Anna Byrom - Senior Lecturer in Midwifery
Professor Emeritus Fiona Dykes - Professor Emeritus of Maternal and Infant Health
Dr Rebecca Nowland - Senior Research Fellow
Lara McNally - Senior Research Assistant
Lucy Hives – Research Associate
Dr Anastasia Topalidou - Research Fellow

Visiting Professors

Professor Rafael Pérez-Escamilla – Professor of Public Health, Yale University
Professor Renee Flacking – Professor of Paediatric Nursing, Dalarna University

Visiting Fellows

Dr Stephanie Heys – Consultant Midwife for Northwest Ambulance Service
Dr Claire Feeley – Lecturer, King’s College London

Maternal, Parental and Infant Nutrition and Nurture (MAINN)

Strategic objectives:

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