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
. 2019 Dec 16:14:51.
doi: 10.1186/s13006-019-0247-4. eCollection 2019.

Women's advice to healthcare professionals regarding breastfeeding: "offer sensitive individualized breastfeeding support"- an interview study

Ingrid Blixt  1   2 , Margareta Johansson  1 , Ingegerd Hildingsson  1 , Zoi Papoutsi  1   2 , Christine Rubertsson  1   3
Affiliations

Women's advice to healthcare professionals regarding breastfeeding: "offer sensitive individualized breastfeeding support"- an interview study

Ingrid Blixt et al. Int Breastfeed J. .

Abstract

Background: The World Health Organization recommends exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months followed by continued breastfeeding with complementary food up to 2 years of age or beyond. Few women achieve this recommendation in Sweden, and they often stop breastfeeding earlier than they would like. Investigating women's advice to healthcare professionals is important for the provision of optimal breastfeeding support. The aim of this study was to explore women's advice to healthcare professionals regarding support for continuing to breastfeed for at least 6 months.

Methods: This investigation used an exploratory study design, and a purposive sample of women was recruited between 2015 and 2016 through social media platforms. The work is a follow-up of an earlier study exploring women's perceptions of the factors that assisted them in breastfeeding for at least 6 months. Telephone interviews were conducted with 139 Swedish women who reported that they had breastfed for at least 6 months. Women were asked the question, "Do you have any advice that you would like to give to healthcare professionals regarding breastfeeding support?". The data were analysed using content analysis.

Results: The theme, "Professionals need to offer women sensitive, individualized breastfeeding support to promote a positive breastfeeding experience", describes the women's advice based on five categories: 1) providing evidence-based care, 2) preparing expectant parents during pregnancy, 3) creating a respectful and mutual dialogue, 4) offering individual solutions to breastfeeding problems, and 5) offering practical support.

Conclusions: This study highlights the importance of professionals providing evidence-based breastfeeding support in a sensitive and individualized manner. This consideration is an important prerequisite to strengthening women's self-confidence and assisting them in reaching their breastfeeding goals, which may enhance the positive nature of their breastfeeding experience.

Keywords: Breastfeeding; Healthcare professionals; Support; Women’s advice.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Competing interestsThe authors declare that they have no competing interests.

References

    1. Victora CG, Bahl R, Barros AJD, França GVA, Horton S, Krasevec J, et al. Breastfeeding in the 21st century: epidemiology, mechanisms, and lifelong effect. Lancet. 2016;387(10017):475–490. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(15)01024-7. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Odom EC, Li R, Scanlon KS, Perrine CG, Grummer-Strawn L. Reasons for earlier than desired cessation of breastfeeding. Pediatrics. 2013;131(3):e726–e732. doi: 10.1542/peds.2012-1295. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Blixt I, Mårtensson LB, Ekström AC. Process-oriented training in breastfeeding for health professionals decreases women’s experiences of breastfeeding challenges. Int Breastfeed J. 2014;9:15. doi: 10.1186/1746-4358-9-15. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. The World Health Organization’s infant feeding recommendation. http://www.who.int/nutrition/topics/infantfeeding_recommendation/en/. Accessed 8 Aug 2018.
    1. The National Board of Health and Welfare: Statistics on Breastfeeding. 2014. http://www.socialstyrelsen.se/globalassets/sharepoint-dokument/artikelka.... Accessed 8 Aug 2018.

Publication types