Article
First-time mothers’ breastfeeding maintenance: Role of experiences and changes in maternal perceptions
Public Health Nutrition
(2017)
Abstract
OBJECTIVE:
Breast-feeding initiation rates have increased in the USA; however, maintenance of breast-feeding for recommended durations is low. The objective of the present study was to identify factors that may facilitate breast-feeding for longer durations among first-timemothers, including physiological and social experiences and changes in maternal perceptions.
DESIGN:
Survival analysis and linear regression methods were used to explore the relationship between experiences and breast-feedingduration, and the possible mediating effect of changes in maternal perceptions.
SETTING:
Secondary data from the Infant Feeding Practices Study II, conducted in the USA between 2005 and 2007.
SUBJECTS:
Data from 762 first-time mothers who ever breast-fed were analysed.
RESULTS:
Experiencing trouble with baby's latch, problems with milk flow/supply and painful breast-feeding were significantly associated with breast-feeding duration (64, 26 and 36 % shorter duration, respectively). Meanwhile, positive changes in perception with respect to breast-feeding self-efficacy, opinion about infant feeding and belief about breast milk were associated with 16-27 % longer duration. Furthermore, changes in perception were observed to partially mediate the impact of physiological experiences on breast-feeding duration.
CONCLUSIONS:
Perceptions of breast-feeding self-efficacy, beliefs and opinions can change over time and are influenced by breast-feedingexperiences. The combined effect of experience and perception plays a key role in influencing breast-feeding duration. Future research should explore interventions to maintain or improve these perceptions while accounting for physiological experiences to support breast-feeding for recommended durations among first-time mothers.
Keywords
- beliefs,
- breastfeeding,
- breastfeeding duration,
- breastfeeding experience,
- infant feeding
Disciplines
Publication Date
2017
DOI
10.1017/S136898001700221X
Citation Information
Ellen Schafer, Shelly Campo, Tarah T. Colaizy, Pamela J. Mulder, et al.. "First-time mothers’ breastfeeding maintenance: Role of experiences and changes in maternal perceptions" Public Health Nutrition Vol. 20 Iss. 17 (2017) p. 3099 - 3108 Available at: http://works.bepress.com/ellen-schafer/20/