African American Women's Breastfeeding Experiences: Cultural, Personal, and Political Voices

Abstract

The low rate of breastfeeding among African American women in the United States is a poorly understood, persistent disparity. Our purpose in this study was to gain an understanding of how African American women experience breastfeeding in the context of their day-to-day lives. The Sequential-Consensual Qualitative Design (SCQD), a 3-stage qualitative methodology aimed at exploring the cultural, personal, and political context of phenomena, was used to explore the experiences of African American women who felt successful with breastfeeding. An integration of qualitative content analysis and Black feminist theory was used to analyze the data. Themes that emerged from Stage-2 data analysis included self-determination, spirituality and breastfeeding, and empowerment. In Stage 3 of the study, participant recommendations regarding breastfeeding promotion and support initiatives for African American breastfeeding were categorized into three themes, including engaging spheres of influence, sparking breastfeeding activism, and addressing images of the sexual breast vs. the nurturing breast.

Keywords: African Americans; breastfeeding; feminism; health care disparities; qualitative analysis; race.