A MSFD complementary approach for the assessment of pressures, knowledge and data gaps in Southern European Seas: The PERSEUS experience

PERSEUS project aims to identify the most relevant pressures exerted on the ecosystems of the Southern European Seas (SES), highlighting knowledge and data gaps that endanger the achievement of SES Good Environmental Status (GES) as mandated by the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD). A complementary approach has been adopted, by a meta-analysis of existing literature on pressure/impact/knowledge gaps summarized in tables related to the MSFD descriptors, discriminating open waters from coastal areas. A comparative assessment of the Initial Assessments (IAs) for five SES countries has been also independently performed. The comparison between meta-analysis results and IAs shows similarities for coastal areas only. Major knowledge gaps have been detected for the biodiversity, marine food web, marine litter and underwater noise descriptors. The meta-analysis also allowed the identification of additional research themes targeting research topics that are requested to the achievement of GES.

Staff support for mothers to provide breast milk in pediatric hospitals and neonatal units

This paper reports on two surveys of nurses and midwives working in a large pediatric hospital and three neonatal units in London, England, regarding support for mothers to provide breast milk. One hundred and twenty-two pediatric staff and 55 neonatal staff returned the questionnaires. Fifty-three percent of pediatric staff had received no training in breastfeeding during or after nursing school. Twenty-two percent of neonatal staff had no relevant training, yet they frequently were asked to help mothers in providing breast milk for their infant. Some respondents demonstrated lack of relevant knowledge including the importance of breast milk, ideal frequencies for milk expression, and the potential to establish lactation at any time. There was a wide range of comments on the barriers in providing breast milk. These results illustrate the need for appropriate breastfeeding policies and staff training. There is a particular lack of studies based in the United Kingdom on breastfeeding in pediatric units. It is hoped that this article will generate discussion among staff about the breastfeeding support they offer and ways to strengthen it.