Breastfeeding and Use of Social Media Among First‐Time African American Mothers

Abstract

Objective To describe the use of social media during the antepartum and postpartum periods among first-time African American mothers and their support persons. Design A qualitative critical ethnographic research design within the contexts of Family Life Course Development Theory and Black Feminist Theory. Setting Participants were recruited from community-based, public health, and home visiting programs. Participants A purposive sample was recruited, consisting of 14 pregnant African American women and eight support persons. Methods Pregnant and postpartum African American women and their support persons were interviewed separately during the antepartum and postpartum periods. Data were analyzed thematically. Results Participants frequently used social media for educational and social support and searched the internet for perinatal and parenting information. Most participants reported using at least one mobile application during their pregnancies and after giving birth. Social media were typically accessed through smartphones and/or computers using different websites and applications. While participants gleaned considerable information about infant development from these applications, they had difficulty finding and recalling information about infant feeding. Conclusion Social media are an important vehicle to disseminate infant feeding information; however, they are not currently being used to full potential. Our findings suggest that future interventions geared towards African American mothers and their support persons should include social media approaches. The way individuals gather, receive, and interpret information is dynamic. The increasing popularity and use of social media platforms offers the opportunity to create more innovative, targeted mobile health interventions for infant feeding and breastfeeding promotion.

Exploring Social Media Group Use Among Breastfeeding Mothers: Qualitative Analysis (Preprint)

“…Further, findings from this qualitative study elicit the notion that certain pro-breastfeeding social media groups could be considered a pillar of support for breastfeeding mothers, which is consistent with findings that mothers seek support online through social media groups [21]. As there is miniscule information on how social media groups support breastfeeding mothers, these results and findings shed light on topics not previously covered through traditional "mothering" groups and/or bring up novel areas for providing support to breastfeeding mothers.…”

An Australian survey of women's use of pregnancy and parenting apps

“…Such reduced use could be the result of women having less time to spend using apps following the birth of their infants, and also their increased use of mother-baby groups and internet sites for information and support 14 .…”

“…The researchers suggest that websites and apps may be particularly helpful for women from socioeconomically disadvantaged groups, who may lack access to other sources of information and advice 13 . Other research involving African-American first-time mothers found that they were more engaged with apps on pregnancy and parenting than with the pamphlets they received from their health carers 14 . A large-scale national online survey conducted with American women who had recently given birth found that 56% of first-time mothers rated pregnancy apps as providing very valuable information, as did 47% of experienced mothers.…”

Mobile Health Application in Implementation of Maternity Nursing Care: Literature Review

“…Almost all of the study show that mobile health application help mother and father to enhance health status on her pregnancy especially for working mom (Chaves et al, 2017;Premji, 2014;Jennings et al, 2016;Obasola, Mabawonku, & Lagunju, 2015;Felicie et al, 2016;Ledford et al, 2016;Mcnabb et al, 2015, Waring et al, 2014Spiby et al, 2014, Asiodu et al, 2015Rhyne & Borawski, 2014;Guerra-reyes et al, 2017;Smith) . Inline with previous study from Western countries, the 7 studies from non-Western countries including Africa, India, Bangladesh, Australia found that mobile health can give positive impact for pregnant mom Balakrishnan et al, 2016;Forti, Stapleton, & Kildea, 2013;Huq, Azmi, Quaiyum, & Hossain, 2014;Khatun et al, 2015;Lupton & Pedersen, 2016;Khatun et al, 2017).…”

“…Based on research conducted by Asiodu et al (2015), mostly postpartum mothers search for information on breastfeeding techniques and infant development through applications in their smartphones. This study shows family support for postpartum mothers by using the application to search for such information.…”