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Women's Prenatal Concerns Regarding Breastfeeding: Are They Being Addressed?
Author(s) -
Archabald Karen,
Lundsberg Lisbet,
Triche Elizabeth,
Norwitz Errol,
Illuzzi Jessica
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
journal of midwifery and women's health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.543
H-Index - 62
eISSN - 1542-2011
pISSN - 1526-9523
DOI - 10.1111/j.1542-2011.2010.00006.x
Subject(s) - breastfeeding , medicine , prenatal care , family medicine , postpartum period , nursing , psychology , pregnancy , pediatrics , environmental health , population , biology , genetics
This study sought to identify women's concerns regarding breastfeeding during the prenatal period and determine whether women thought that health care providers addressed these concerns. Methods: A structured interview with both open‐ended and closed‐ended questions addressing the study objectives was administered to a cross‐sectional sample of 130 English‐speaking or Spanish‐speaking postpartum women at Yale‐New Haven Hospital. Results: When asked an open‐ended question regarding whether they had concerns about breastfeeding while making their decisions about feeding their infants, 81.5% of women identified at least 1 concern. Of these women, only 25.4% reported that this concern was addressed by the provider during prenatal care. When prompted with 8 common concerns regarding breastfeeding during the prenatal period, 95.4% of women identified at least 1 of these preidentified concerns. Only 17.4% of women who identified any of these 8 concerns reported that the concerns had been discussed with a provider. Discussion: Women's recall of prenatal health care discussions strongly suggests that providers are not adequately addressing women's concerns about breastfeeding.