Dr Lisa Orchard, Faculty of Education, Health and Wellbeing

Dr Lisa Orchard completed her PhD at the University of Wolverhampton in 2013. Her thesis explored individual differences within social media, and specifically Facebook engagement. Lisa returned to the University in 2015 as a Lecturer in Psychology. She is a part of the CRUW research group (Cyberpsychology Research at the University of Wolverhampton) and teaches on the MSc Cyberpsychology programme as well as the psychology undergraduate programmes. She also supervises research projects across various levels of study.

Lisa is very passionate about all aspects of cyberpsychology and social psychology, but specifically interested in online social interaction, social media usage, trolling and flaming, and parenting through the online world. She is undertaking the ERAS project on a 2 year part-time basis.

Breastfeeding intentions and the role of social media

The UK has one of the worst breastfeeding rates in the world. The World Health Organization (WHO) and NHS argue that babies should be breastfed for up to two years or longer, but NHS statistics suggest that only 17% of babies are still being exclusively breastfed at the age of three months. There is therefore a strong drive to help promote breastfeeding and enhance breastfeeding support for new mothers. Jin, Phua and Lee, (2015) argue that social media may be a key outlet for health promotion considering its prevalence within current society, and the practical affordances it offers.

Given that breastfeeding is a health behaviour, psychological theory can be applied to improve the efficiency of potential interventions. This research will explore the role of social media impact upon breastfeeding intentions and success within the UK. It is hoped that the research will provide a stronger insight into how social media can be used effectively to promote breastfeeding, and produce theory to support potential practical interventions going forward.