An interpretive phenomenological analysis of the experiences of mothers who continue to breastfeed despite facing difficulties.

BACKGROUND: Breastfeeding offers many health benefits to mother and infant. PROBLEM: Breastfeeding difficulties are common and are linked with postnatal distress. AIM: To explore the lived experiences of breastfeeding continuation despite facing difficulties. METHODS: Qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight women who had experienced breastfeeding difficulties yet continued breastfeeding. Interviews were analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). FINDINGS: The first superordinate theme, 'Radical acceptance of the imperfect' included sub-themes of: 'Taking it day-by-day', 'Breastfeeding takes a community', and, 'Finding what works for you'. The second superordinate theme, 'Determination and persistence' included sub-themes of: 'Adopting a headstrong attitude' and 'Transient challenges versus lifelong achievement'. DISCUSSION: Participants found radical acceptance of breastfeeding as an imperfect, variable process which enabled them to sustain breastfeeding despite challenges. Participants proactively drew on social and personal resources to navigate guidance and to find solutions which worked for their individual circumstances. Finally, open-mindedness, optimism, self-compassion, and being headstrong and determined were all personal qualities which facilitated breastfeeding during exceptionally difficult moments on their breastfeeding journey. CONCLUSION: Recommendations are made for healthcare professionals: to provide emotional counselling during routine care (with an aim to instil breastfeeding self-efficacy) and to encourage breastfeeding advocacy among fathers and the maternal social support network (with an aim to further scaffold successful breastfeeding). Recommendations are also made for mothers: to develop and refine maternal confidence, patience, flexibility, self-compassion, and trust.

Exploring the reasons why mothers do not breastfeed, to inform and enable better support.

Introduction: Infant and maternal breastfeeding benefits are well documented, globally. Despite efforts to increase global breastfeeding rates, the majority of high-income settings fall short of recommended targets. Breastfeeding rates in the UK are especially poor, and physiological difficulties (e.g., inverted nipples), fail to account for the observed breastfeeding intention-behaviour gap. Method: The current online study sought to investigate the infant feeding experiences of 624 UK formula feeding mothers, through open text survey responses. Results: A content analysis identified the following clusters of reasons for formula feeding: Feeding Attitudes, Feeding Problems, Mental Health, and Sharing the Load. Discussion: Feeding Attitudes explained a large percentage of reasons given for formula feeding. Recommendations are made to improve antenatal breastfeeding education and to develop an intervention with an aim to improve maternal breastfeeding attitudes and subsequent practice. Feeding Problems also explained a large portion of combination feeding and started but stopped infant feeding accounts. The current paper calls for more comprehensive and tailored antenatal breastfeeding education to refine practical breastfeeding skills necessary for successful breastfeeding establishment and maintenance. Mental Health explained relatively small coverage. Suggestions are therefore made to train mental health practitioners on infant feeding with an aim to provide more extensive support, which may serve to disrupt the bidirectional relationship between poor mental health and poor breastfeeding outcomes. Finally, Sharing the Load explained moderate coverage across never breastfed, combination fed, and started but stopped feeding groups. Recommendations are made, in light of these findings, to tighten workplace legislation to protect breastfeeding women.

Easier, but not easy: Testing a grounded theory of breastfeeding experiences among women with larger birthweight infants.

OBJECTIVE: Grounded Theory has previously been used to explore breastfeeding practices amongst average birthweight infants and these working hypotheses can be 'tested' in new contexts. A pre-existing Grounded Theory was applied to the context of women who gave birth to larger birthweight infants (≥4,000 g) to understand whether perceptions and practices of infant feeding were distinct. DESIGN: A nested qualitative study analysed data from N = 10 women with a larger birthweight infant (≥4,000 g). Face-to-face, semi-structured interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Grounded Theory methodology was used to analyse data. RESULTS: A pre-existing Grounded Theory of breastfeeding experiences derived from women with average birthweight infants did not hold true among women with larger birthweight infants. An alternative Grounded Theory was therefore proposed comprised of three discrete themes: Infant Ability to Breastfeed; Attenuating Maternal Concerns; and Reality of Breastfeeding. CONCLUSIONS: Larger infant birthweight is potentially a protective factor against breastfeeding latch and lactation difficulties. It is associated with alleviating maternal concerns, helping to reduce disparities between expectations of breastfeeding and reality, but does not alleviate the demands breastfeeding places on women. Healthcare professionals help to attenuate women's concerns, however the support needs for women with larger birthweight infants may not differ from existing care recommendations.

Infant feeding practices among macrosomic infants: A prospective cohort study.

The health benefits of breastfeeding are well recognised, but breastfeeding rates worldwide remain suboptimal. Breastfeeding outcomes have yet to be explored among women who give birth to macrosomic (birthweight ≥4000 g) infants, a cohort for whom the benefits of breastfeeding may be particularly valuable, offering protection against later-life morbidity associated with macrosomia. This longitudinal prospective cohort study aimed to identify whether women who give birth to macrosomic infants are at greater risk of breastfeeding non-initiation or exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) cessation. A total of 328 women in their third trimester were recruited from hospital and community settings and followed to 4 months post-partum. Women gave birth to 104 macrosomic and 224 non-macrosomic (<4000 g) infants between 2018 and 2020. Longitudinal logistic regression models calculated odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) to assess likelihood of EBF at four timepoints post-partum (birth, 2 weeks, 8 weeks, and 4 months) between women who gave birth to macrosomic and non-macrosomic infants, adjusted for maternal risk (obesity and/or diabetes), ethnicity and mode of birth. Macrosomic infants were more likely to be exclusively breastfed at birth and 2 weeks post-partum than non-macrosomic infants with adjusted OR = 1.94 (95% CI: 0.90, 4.18; p = 0.089) and 2.13 (95% CI: 1.11, 4.06; p = 0.022), respectively. There were no statistically significant associations between macrosomia and EBF at 8 weeks or 4 months post-partum. Macrosomia may act as a protective factor against early formula-milk supplementation, increasing the likelihood of EBF in the early post-partum period, but rates of exclusive breastfeeding continued to decline over the first 4 months post-partum.

The Beliefs About Breastfeeding Questionnaire (BAB-Q): A psychometric validation study.

OBJECTIVES: Questionnaires used to assess women's beliefs as a predictor of breastfeeding behaviour are not theoretically informed or tested for psychometric validity and reliability. This study conducted a psychometric evaluation of the Beliefs About Breastfeeding Questionnaire (BAB-Q). DESIGN: A two-phase evaluation in an online cross-sectional questionnaire study (N = 278) and cohort study sample (N = 264). A ten-item questionnaire was proposed to assess women's beliefs about the benefits and efforts of breastfeeding. METHODS: Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) assessed construct validity and reliability. Multivariate regression analyses assessed validity in predicting breastfeeding behaviour and experiences. RESULTS: EFA found a shortened 8-item, 2-factor model had good fit (χ2  = 23.3, df = 13, p < .040; CFI = .99, TLI = .99, RMSEA = .05), with significant factor loadings. Factor 1 (benefit beliefs) and factor 2 (effort beliefs) accounted for 47 and 19.4% of the explained variance and correlated moderately (r = -.40). CFA confirmed the solution in the cohort sample (χ2  = 49.6 df = 19, p < .010; CFI = .97, TLI = .96, and RMSEA = .078). Adjusted regression analyses found beliefs did not reliably predict infant feeding practices. Women's beliefs significantly predicted the likelihood that women experienced breastfeeding as 'much more' positive and negative than they expected. CONCLUSIONS: The eight-item questionnaire showed good model fit with acceptable loadings, and good reliability for all subscales. The utility of the BAB-Q at predicting breastfeeding behaviour remains unclear and unsupported by empirical evidence. Further assessments of the predictive validity of the questionnaire in longitudinal studies with diverse beliefs and infant feeding practices are required.

Indicators of 'good' feeding, breastfeeding latch, and feeding experiences among healthy women with healthy infants: A qualitative pathway analysis using Grounded Theory.

BACKGROUND: Breastfeeding behaviour remains a public health priority worldwide. Despite evidence-based guidelines, healthy women who give birth to healthy, term infants continue to face barriers to breastfeeding. Understanding women's experiences of feeding in the early postnatal period is crucial to identify how support may be better tailored to improve breastfeeding outcomes, including women's experiences. QUESTION: To understand women's experiences of infant feeding amongst healthy women who give birth to healthy, average-weight, term infants. METHODS: Grounded Theory methodology was used to analyse data from a nested qualitative interview study. Twelve women between four and twelve months postpartum were recruited from a longitudinal cohort study and public advertisements. Semi-structured face-to-face interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed for analysis. FINDINGS: Three distinct themes were found, subsuming identified super-categories: Perceived indicators of 'good' feeding (infant 'output'; infant crying; weight gain; feeding frequency and duration); Women's experiences of breastfeeding latch ('good' latch; 'bad' latch with pain and discomfort); and Overall breastfeeding experience (positive; negative; and uncertain). Data suggest women give precedence to their latch experiences over indicators of 'good' feeding, highlighting breastfeeding latch as a possible mediating factor to the overall breastfeeding experience. Feeding experience can be achieved through four distinct pathways. DISCUSSION: The physical and psychological impacts of latch pain were pronounced. Even amongst healthy women with healthy infants, a positive breastfeeding experience overall was uncommon, highlighting the difficulties women continue to encounter. Understanding women's perceptions of 'good' feeding, and ensuring a pain-free latch, may better support women to have a positive breastfeeding experience.

Effectiveness of social-psychological interventions at promoting breastfeeding initiation, duration and exclusivity: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Evidence for the health benefits of breastfeeding is well substantiated but breastfeeding uptake and duration remains low worldwide. Individual level breastfeeding promotion programmes are behavioural interventions, targeting malleable social-psychological processes to change behaviour. This systematic review aimed to investigate whether such interventions are effective at improving breastfeeding initiation, duration and exclusivity, and breastfeeding support. A three-stage search strategy identified eligible articles from six databases. Nine controlled-clinical trials and 11 quasi-experimental trials were included. Random-effects meta-analyses identified significant improvements in rates of breastfeeding initiation (N = 2,213; OR = 2.32, 95% CI [1.33, 4.03], p = .003; I2 = 0%, p = .966) and suggested improved exclusive breastfeeding rates up to six months postpartum (N = 3,671; OR = 1.84, 95% CI [1.38, 2.45], p < .001; I2 = 68.7%, p < .001). After considering small-sample effects, estimates for exclusive breastfeeding across the postpartum period were non-significant. There were no improvements in women maintaining any (i.e., non-exclusive) breastfeeding to one, two, three, four or six months postpartum (N = 4,153; OR = 0.88, 95% CI [0.72, 1.09], p = .253). Evidence for improvements in perceived and actual breastfeeding support was limited. Sub-group analyses suggest standalone postnatal interventions targeting first-time mothers may support breastfeeding uptake. Findings should be interpreted cautiously as the quality of evidence for each outcome was low with a high risk of bias. Future efforts to support women to breastfeed should assimilate behaviour change research, with process evaluation to identify effective processes to inform a high-quality evidence-base for implementation in practice.

Breastfeeding experiences and support for women who are overweight or obese: A mixed-methods systematic review.

Women who are overweight or obese have increased health risks during and beyond pregnancy, with consequences for their infants' shorter and longer term health. Exclusive breastfeeding to 6 months has many benefits for women and their infants. However, women who are overweight or obese have lower rates of breastfeeding intention, initiation, and duration compared with women with normal weight. This systematic review aimed to examine evidence of (a) breastfeeding barriers and support experienced and perceived by women who are overweight or obese, (b) support shown to be effective in increasing breastfeeding initiation and duration among these women, and (c) perceptions of health care professionals, peer supporters, partners, and family members regarding providing breastfeeding support to these women. Sixteen quantitative and qualitative papers were included and critically appraised. Thematic synthesis was undertaken to obtain findings. Maternal physical barriers such as larger breasts, difficulties of positioning to breastfeed, delayed onset of lactation, perceived insufficient supply of breast milk, and impact of caesarean birth were evident. Maternal psychological barriers including low confidence in ability to breastfeed, negative body image, embarrassment at breastfeeding in public, and experiencing stigma of obesity were also described. Support from health care professionals and family members influenced breastfeeding outcomes. Education for maternity care professionals is needed to enable them to provide tailored, evidence-based support to women who are overweight or obese who want to breastfeed. Research on health care professionals, partners, and family members' experiences and views on supporting this group of women to breastfeed is needed to support development of appropriate interventions.

To what extent does maternal body mass index predict intentions, attitudes, or practices of early infant feeding?

Public health guidelines recommend women establish and maintain exclusive breastfeeding to 6 months postpartum. Women with a body mass index (BMI, kg/m2 ) in the overweight or obese range are less likely to initiate and continue breastfeeding than healthy weight women. Evidence for psychological mechanisms of this association using validated methods of measurement is limited, but factors such as attitudes and intentions for infant feeding are implicated. This study aimed to investigate the associations between maternal BMI, antenatal attitudes and intentions for infant feeding, and subsequent breastfeeding practices. A total of N = 128 women completed an online questionnaire antenatally, and n = 48 were followed-up in the first month postpartum. Validated measures of intentions (Infant Feeding Intentions Scale) and attitudes (Iowa Infant Feeding Attitude Scale) for infant feeding were used. One-way analysis of variance and multivariate regression analyses assessed study objectives. Infant feeding attitudes (p = .327) and intentions (p = .254) were similar among healthy weight, overweight, and obese women and did not differ significantly. In adjusted regression models, only intentions significantly predicted early breastfeeding behaviour (p = .036; AR2  = .301). Missing data analysis revealed no significant differences in the profile of completing versus noncompleting women. Evidence suggests postnatal factors contribute significantly to lower breastfeeding rates in cohorts of women with overweight or obese BMIs. Further investigations should consider using theory and methods from behavioural science to longitudinally investigate modifiable mechanisms of action responsible for lower breastfeeding rates among overweight and obese women to inform practices that support prolonged breastfeeding.