Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #105738

Elizabeth F. Racine, RD, DrPH, Department of Health Behavior and Administration, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, 9201 University City Blvd, Charlotte, NC 28223, 704-752-5929, tbracine@earthlink.net, Kevin D. Frick, PhD, Department of Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 624 N. Broadway, Rm. 606, Baltimore, MD 21205, Donna Strobino, PhD, Department of Population and Family Health Sciences, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 615 N. Wolfe St., Room E4151, Baltimore, MD 21205, Laura M. Carpenter, PhD, Sociology, Vanderbilt University, VU Station B, Box 1811, Nashville, TN 37235, Renee Milligan, RNC, PhD, Johns Hopkins University, 525 N Wolfe St, Baltimore, MD 21205, and Linda C. Pugh, PhD, RNC, School of Nursing, Johns Hopkins University, 525 North Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD 21205.

Low-income women are less likely than higher income women to breastfeed for six months as recommended. Understanding the incentives and disincentives women face throughout the breastfeeding experience would be helpful in the development of successful breastfeeding interventions. Methods: Forty-four in-depth qualitative interviews were conducted among women participating in The Nurse's Intervention for Low-Income Breastfeeding Women in Baltimore, MD. The in-home interviews focused on the woman's perceptions about breastfeeding, breastfeeding experience, friends' and families' reactions to breastfeeding, current daily responsibilities, and general well-being. The incentives and disincentives to breastfeeding women experienced were explored and discussed in detail. Results: The strongest incentives to breastfeeding success were motivation to breastfeed, past experience with breastfeeding, support and guidance from family members and guidance from peer breastfeeding counselors and community nurses. The primary disincentives were difficulty establishing breastfeeding, lack of motivation to breastfeed, stressful lives, returning to work, and lack of support/education/guidance from family or health care professionals. Age was also a negative factor in breastfeeding continuation. The findings from this qualitative study also suggest that low-income breastfeeding women fall into three broad groups or types -- Unmotivated, Inexperienced, and Experienced – based on their motivation, experience, and family support. The majority of the participants fell into the Inexperienced group-motivated to breastfeed but lacking in support and education. Conclusion: Policies and interventions geared at educating women about the benefits of breastfeeding and providing education and guidance throughout the breastfeeding experience would be useful in increasing breastfeeding duration to six months or more.

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