2015 APHA Annual Meeting & Expo

Home Events & Meetings Annual Meeting Schedule & Program

Recorded Annual Meeting Presentations (RAMP) are now available for purchase.
Only $90 for presenters, $140 for registered attendees and $200 for non-attendees.

Online Program

333512
Factors That Encouraged and Inhibited Breastfeeding Initiation and Duration in Mothers with Policy Suggestions


Monday, November 2, 2015

Kelvin Freeman, MPH, School of Population Health, University of Toledo, Toledo, OH
introduction:  Breastfeeding is associated with providing specific nutritional components such as immunological, anti-inflammatory, digestive, and immune system benefits contributed to the infant and mother.  However, recent literature spanning the last 40 years have reported several factors that prevent mothers from either initiating breastfeeding or continuing breastfeeding after initiation until the first year of life. This study aimed to examine factors that encouraged and inhibited breastfeeding initiation and duration in mothers.  

methods:  This review employed a comprehensive approach by selecting relevant articles identified exclusively breastfeeding.  After identifying keywords based on published articles related to breastfeeding current practices, initiation, and duration; only articles that peer-reviewed articles from literature databases including Medline, ERIC, PsycINFO, Psychological and Behavioral Sciences Collection, CINAHL Plus, and ProQuest thesis /dissertation databases were used.  A matrix of breastfeeding promoting and inhibiting factors was created to include their statistical methods, values, and significance. 

results:  There was only one article that focused on current breastfeeding practices.  Factors including bedsharing, maternal education level, income, return back to work, and prenatal planning were significantly associated with breastfeeding initiation.  Professional lactation support to breastfeed within 30 minutes of birth, antenatal classes, support during pregnancy, race, marital status and profession of the mother were significant factors associated with duration.

discussion: Policies on evidence-based breastfeeding initiation and duration practices should be enacted for United States hospitals.  Based on the evidence from the literature, lactation specialist to assist new mothers, prenatal education/training for postpartum breastfeeding, and baby-friendly hospital initiatives are a few policies making suggestions.

Learning Areas:

Administer health education strategies, interventions and programs
Advocacy for health and health education
Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programs
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs
Public health or related education
Public health or related research

Learning Objectives:
Identify leading significant factors associated with breastfeeding initiation and duration Describe how the factors affect breastfeeding rates among races and how they impact chronic diseases Discuss policy measures that can positively influence breastfeeding rates in the United States

Keyword(s): Breastfeeding, Maternal and Child Health

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am the principal researcher on this topic, research, and abstract. I have conducted several months of data for compiling and analyzing peer-reviewed articles to investigate gaps in the literature. My research interest is maternal and child health, recently breastfeeding and the factors associated with why mothers initiate and/or continue after initiating. Breastfeeding can be linked to health outcomes that develop later in life, and I want to investigate why!
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 3106.2: Breastfeeding Research, Policy and Practice Poster Session