Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2014 Feb 7;9(2):e88204.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0088204. eCollection 2014.

Benefits, barriers and enablers of breastfeeding: factor analysis of population perceptions in Western Australia

Alison Daly  1 , Christina Mary Pollard  2 , Michael Phillips  3 , Colin William Binns  1
Affiliations

Benefits, barriers and enablers of breastfeeding: factor analysis of population perceptions in Western Australia

Alison Daly et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate knowledge and community perceptions of breastfeeding in Western Australia using a factor analysis approach.

Methods: Data were pooled from five Nutrition Monitoring Survey Series which included information on breastfeeding from 4,802 Western Australian adults aged 18-64 years. Tetrachoric factor analysis was conducted for data reduction and significant associations identified using logistic, ordinal and poisson regression analyses.

Results: Four factors were derived for benefits (it's natural, good nutrition, good for the baby, and convenience), barriers (breastfeeding problems, poor community acceptability, having to go back to work, and inconvenience) and for enablers (breastfeeding education, community support, family support and not having to work). As assessed by standardized odds ratios the most important covariates across benefit factors were: importance of breastfeeding (ORs range from 1.22-1.44), female gender (ORs range from 0.80 to 1.46), being able to give a time for how long a baby should be breastfed (ORs range from 0.96 to 1.27) and education (less than high school to university completion) (ORs range from 0.95 to 1.23); the most important covariate across barrier factors was being able to give a time for how long a baby should be breastfed (ORs range from 0.89 to 1.93); and the most important covariates across all enabling factors were education (ORs range from 1.14 to 1.32) and being able to give a time for how long a baby should be breastfed (ORs range from 1.17 to 1.42).

Conclusions: Being female, rating breastfeeding as important, believing that babies should be breastfed for a period of time and education accounted for most of the statistically significant associations. The differences between male and female perceptions require investigation particularly in relation to returning to work.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Mean number of benefits, barriers and enablers by gender and year, NMSS 1995–2009.
Y axis : Mean number. X axis: Year of survey. Legend: Solid line = Females; Dashed line = Males.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Mean number of benefits, barriers and enablers by how long a baby should be breastfed, NMSS 1995–2009.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. National Health and Medical Research Council (2012) Infant Feeding Guidelines. Canberra: National Health and Medical Research Council. - PubMed
    1. World Health Organization, UNICEF (2003) Global strategy for infant and young child feeding. Geneva: World Health Organisation.
    1. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2011) The Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Support Breastfeeding. Washington (DC): Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Surgeon General.
    1. Butte N, Lopex-Alarcon M, Garza C (2001) Nutrient Adequacy of Exclusive Breastfeeding for the Term Infant During the First Six Months of Life. Geneva: World Health Organisation.
    1. Owen CG, Martin RM, Whincup PH, Smith GD, Cook DG (2005) Effect of infant feeding on the risk of obesity across the life course: a quantitative review of published evidence. Pediatrics 115: 1367–1377. - PubMed

Publication types