Table 1.

Focus group topic guide

Focus group 1st hour to include:  • Introductions and refreshments  • Explanation of process including recording consent  • Talking through Accessible Research Information Sheet  • Explaining use of visual images (e.g. no right or wrong answers) and context of questions  • Time for participants to look at range of resources / images on different tables.
Opening question (approx. 5 min)	Do you find it helpful when something is explained using pictures instead of only using writing?
	or
	Do you like it when people explain things using pictures e.g., at the doctors?
Introductory questions (approx. 10 min)	What are your thoughts about becoming/being a mother? Which of the pictures do you like, and which do you not like? Can you tell us why?
	What is happening in this photo/drawing/painting in your opinion?
Key questions (approx. 20 min)	How do you feel about feeding a baby (breastfeeding and/or bottle feeding)?
	Do these pictures give you any information about how to look after a baby? What kind of information would you like about how to feed a baby? Are some of the pictures easier to understand than others? How do they make you feel? [In relation to one of two specific images.] Can you imagine being the woman in the picture? [We will be trying to find out if participants identify with any of the representations of maternity and if they feel excluded from any of them – how we do this will depend on the individuals who participate in the study.]
Ending question (approx. 10 min)	Is there anything you want to say about the pictures that we haven’t talked about?
	Is there anything else you want to say about the kind of information you would like about looking after a baby?