Acceptability of financial incentives for breastfeeding: thematic analysis of comments to UK online news reports

Abstract

Background The World Health Organization recommends babies are breastfed for at least six months. Financial incentives have been used to encourage breastfeeding, but limited research has explored their acceptability. We examined UK public attitudes towards financial incentives for breastfeeding using online data. Methods Thematic analysis was undertaken on 3,373 reader comments posted in response to 13 articles reporting a pilot study exploring the effectiveness of incentives for breastfeeding. All articles were published in November 2013 on one of six popular UK news websites. Findings Nine themes were identified: children are a lifestyle choice; financial incentives are discriminatory and divisive; incentives create a culture of entitlement; incentives are personally insulting; they have an emotional impact on recipients; they need to be effective and cost-effective; they need to generate initial motivation; the design, delivery and impact of incentives are questioned; and they have an inequitable impact on personal choice. Discussion Those commenting on the online UK news articles amongst the general public viewed financial incentives for breastfeeding as unacceptable and that alternative, structural, interventions were likely to be more effective.