Trial will test whether shopping vouchers encourage breast feeding

Mothers are being offered up to £200 (€240; $320) in shopping vouchers for breast feeding their babies as part of a new study by the University of Sheffield.

The NOSH (Nourishing Start for Health) scheme is offering a combination of high street shop and supermarket vouchers in an effort to boost breast feeding in areas with a low prevalence.

“Offering financial incentives for mothers to breast feed might increase the number of babies being breast fed and complement ongoing support for breast feeding provided by the NHS, local authorities, and charities,” said the trial’s principal investigator, Clare Relton, a senior research fellow at Sheffield University. She …