Determinants of Infant-Feeding Choice Among Young Women in Hilo, Hawaii

Abstract

Our multicultural island community is unique in that many young mothers live in multigenerational households. In this qualitative study, we examined the factors that influenced young mothers' infant-feeding practices in Hilo, a small rural town in the Hawaiian Islands. The study participants consisted of young mothers, health care professionals, and educators. Our findings suggest that both the young mother's mother and her partner are very influential in the infant-feeding decision. Many young women in our study bottle fed to obtain assistance in caretaking, and to facilitate public breastfeeding. Additionally, we explored young mother's views of sexuality and breastfeeding, and their health promotion implications.

Cautionary Tales About Extended Breastfeeding and Weaning

“…In taking this approach it becomes clear that the duration of breastfeeding is largely shaped by underlying cultural assumptions about children's and maternal bodies. Given this finding, I add my voice to those who advocate for increased breastfeeding promotion efforts that highlight the cultural context of breastfeeding (Kukla, 2006;Morrison et al, 2008).…”

“…The sexualization of the female breast in contemporary America makes the performance of breastfeeding tricky for mothers (Acker, 2009;Morrison et al, 2008). In a previous article, I argue the "good maternal body" is not a sexual body and therefore in "doing breastfeeding in front of others, women negotiate the definitions of their nursing behaviors as sexual or nurturing" (Stearns, 1999, p. 310).…”

“…There is an increasing recognition that even when mothers know "breast is best," however, they may stop breastfeeding because of the social environment in which breastfeeding occurs (Kukla, 2006;Morrison, Rez, Cardines, Foutch-Chew, & Severance, 2008). The social context for breastfeeding in the United States is marked by enthusiastic support alongside persistent resistance (Wolf, 2007).…”

Breastfeeding practice in Kuwait: determinants of success and reasons for failure

“…The partner's supporting influence and external encouragement for the lactating mother were highlighted in previous studies (14,16,17). Additionally, maternal illness was perceived by the studied mothers as an important cause of failure to breastfeed.…”

Contested moral landscapes: Negotiating breastfeeding stigma in breastmilk sharing, nighttime breastfeeding, and long-term breastfeeding in the U.S. and the U.K.

“…These data suggest that formula feeding remains the most common form of infant feeding over the course of the first year of infancy. Recent survey data also indicate that despite legal protections considerable cultural discomfort remains with public breastfeeding, with over a third of mothers hesitant to breastfeed in public (Public Health England, 2015) Mixed breastfeeding and formula feeding also become more common over the course of the first year in the U.S., and in many communities neither exclusive breastfeeding (Cartagena et al, 2014; Morrison et al, 2008) nor breastfeeding in public (Fischer & Olson, 2014; Mitchell-Box & Braun, 2012) are common cultural practices. Moreover, both settings share disparities in breastfeeding by socioeconomic status, education, race and ethnicity (McAndrew et al, 2012; Oakley et al, 2013), but ethnic minorities are more likely to breastfeed in the U.K. (Griffiths & Tate, 2007; McAndrew et al, 2012), whereas many racial and ethnic minorities in the U.S., especially African American women, are considerably less likely to breastfeed than white women (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2016).…”