Breastfeeding Among High-Risk Inner-City African-American Mothers: A Risky Choice?

Abstract

Several findings have been previously reported, such as fear of pain with breastfeeding, but we identified new themes, including self-esteem and self-efficacy, and new concerns, for example, that large breasts would suffocate a breastfeeding infant. The FIBs analytic framework, as modified for breastfeeding issues, creates a context for future analysis and comparison of related studies and may be a useful tool to improve understanding of barriers to breastfeeding among high-risk inner-city women.

Prepregnancy Obesity and Breastfeeding Noninitiation in the United States: An Examination of Racial and Ethnic Differences

“…11,30 For example, obese women who have greater amounts of adipose tissue may have larger breasts or flattened nipples, which can hinder infant latching. 31 Psychological barriers to breastfeeding noted in the literature include the fear of pain associated with breastfeeding, 32,33 fear of social isolation, 33,34 and low self-efficacy. 34 In addition, some studies have shown obese women have lower intentions to breastfeed, a significant predictor for initiation, 29,[35][36][37] whereas others have shown this to be untrue.…”

Barriers to Human Milk Feeding at Discharge of Very-Low-Birth-Weight Infants: Maternal Goal Setting as a Key Social Factor

“…29 Similarly, literature specifically focused on black mothers of primarily term infants demonstrates that the opinion of the mother's mother is very important. 30 While some black mothers report that their mothers encourage breastfeeding, 31 others report the opposite experience with mothers disapproving of breastfeeding. 32 An intergenerational factor specific to black women is the long-lasting impact and legacy of slavery that may negatively impact HM provision for black women as generations of black women were raised with limited breastfeeding role models or exposure to breastfeeding.…”

Community Health Workers: Collaborating to Support Breastfeeding Among High-Risk Inner-City Mothers

“…6 Students (Angela North and Elizabeth Banks) had previously collaborated to flexibly redefine the Factors Influencing Beliefs schema for breastfeeding content. 7 Domains and subdomains were therefore previously defined with inclusion/ exclusion criteria. The process of quotation assignment for CHW focus groups was conducted by L.F., using serial review to confirm domain and subdomain applicability, with triangulation to literature on breastfeeding peer helpers/peer counselors to verify context and content.…”

“…Breastfeedingfocused definitions for these domains and their subdomains were previously described. 7 A summary of the theme-based analysis is presented in Table 1, with example quotes.…”