No abstract

The objective of the current study was to better understand how pregnant women and male partners conceptualize infant feeding and support for breastfeeding. Information was collected through 18 focus group interviews in 3 major US cities. There were 121 focus group participants of varying professions and income levels. Half were African American and half were Caucasian. Pregnant women and male partners had favorable attitudes toward breastfeeding, but did not articulate specific benefits to mothers or infants. Men expressed empathy for their partners' pregnancies and deferred to their partners' feeding decisions. Both groups disapproved of breastfeeding in public. Women voiced concerns about father-infant bonding more than men did. Both groups emphasized fathers' support of the infant, but not of the mother. Educators and practitioners may wish to consider expectant couples' perceptions of breastfeeding in public, knowledge of breastfeeding laws, and expectations of father-mother and father-infant relationships in their approach to breastfeeding promotion among expectant couples.

Unintended pregnancy is defined as a pregnancy that is mistimed or unwanted, and this classification has been widely used in survey research. This chapter explores the utility of these constructs for women in New Orleans, LA. It examines sexual debut and history, contraceptive knowledge and use, abortion, pregnancy history, partner relations, and service use among seventy-seven women (seventy-three of whom were African-American) using a qualitative methodology. It provides insight into the cultural and social context in which these events and decisions take place, and explores the multiple dimensions that shape women's sexual behaviors and their desires for pregnancy. Many structural and individual factors affect women's preferences and ability to postpone a pregnancy or to use contraception.

Contrary to popular conceptions, breastfeeding appears to be a learned skill. If mothers achieved a level of "confident commitment" before the birth, they were able to withstand lack of support by significant others and common challenges that occurred as they initiated breastfeeding. Without the element of "confident commitment," a decision to breastfeed appeared to fall apart once challenged.

Traditional measures of pregnancy intentions did not readily predict a woman's choice to continue or abort the pregnancy. Relationship with male partners, desire for a baby with the partner, and life circumstances were critical dimensions in pregnancy decisionmaking.