Discomfort breastfeeding in the presence of others as a barrier to breastfeeding goal achievement

Objective: To estimate the effect of breastfeeding comfort level on breastfeeding goal achievement for mothers in Lake County, Illinois. Methods: As part of the NICHD Community and Child Health Network (CCHN) study, mothers from the Lake County site reported whether they had breastfed more, less, or about as long as they had planned. The primary outcome is whether or not mothers fell short of their original breastfeeding goals. Breastfeeding comfort level, was derived from 7 questions on a five-point ordinal scale that assessed how comfortable mothers felt nursing in the presence of male and female relatives, friends, children, and strangers. Logistic regression estimated the association between breastfeeding goal achievement and comfort level, adjusting for race/ethnicity, SES, and age. Results: Sixty-three mothers were studied, ranging from 18 to 40 years, 41% low-income (n = 200 in progress, with ethnic breakdown). A one unit increase in comfort level around female relatives was associated with being 48% (p = .014) less likely to fall short of their breastfeeding goals. Comfort nursing around female friends, male relatives, and strangers produced similar results. The more comfortable mothers were breastfeeding in the presence of others, the more likely they were to achieve their breastfeeding goal. Conclusion: Findings suggest that promoting acceptability of public breastfeeding may increase mothers' comfort nursing in the presence of others, and in turn, facilitate achievement of personal breastfeeding goals. Public health campaigns that aim to change social norms around breastfeeding and support mothers' rights and self-efficacy to nurse in public are encouraged.