Breastfeeding is acknowledged as optimal infant nutrition, yet despite high initiation rates, early cessation remains common. To understand why, we asked mothers in Western Canada how they felt about their breastfeeding experience. A total of 191 women (response rate 35%) responded to a survey distributed by public health nurses. While many women felt positive about their overall breastfeeding experience, others shared mixed or negative emotions. Several themes were evident: (a) Most women reported a variety of positive aspects beyond the health benefits, (b) lactation difficulties were commonly reported, and (c) diversity among the reflections highlights the uniqueness of each breastfeeding journey. The findings reaffirm the need for breastfeeding programs to holistically promote the range of positive aspects while providing realistic information on common challenges and strategies to overcome these. Mothers require individualized support that assesses psychosocial and emotional needs and offers encouragement, reassurance, and acknowledgment of the range of experiences.
Background Human milk expression, primarily by pump, is practiced by the majority of breastfeeding mothers in affluent countries. Existing literature is focused on determining prevalence and duration rates and the factors behind this trend. There is less research exploring mothers’ perspectives and experiences related to expression. Research aim To gather the experiential wisdom of mothers with a focus on their information needs and sources related to human milk expression. Methods Audiotaped interviews were conducted with 35 mothers of infants, aged birth to 24 months, who had expressed milk at least once in western Canada. This study was guided by interpretive description, an applied qualitative research approach. Results Registered nurses and international board-certified lactation consultants were the most common sources of information, with Internet, friends/family, and other mothers also important. Inconsistent expression advice was confusing for participants, and many reported health care providers did not address all their expression learning needs. Desired topic areas included practical advice on how to express, determining expression frequency/timing/duration, milk storage guidelines, the influence of expression on milk supply, product information, and general support/encouragement. Conclusions Assessment of expression learning needs should be part of routine lactation support at each encounter. Nonjudgmental, factual guidance will assist mothers in making evidence-informed decisions related to expression practices that are consistent with their unique breastfeeding goals. This should be supplemented by reputable online resources that provide timely and accurate information as well as efforts to connect mothers with peer support groups.
Nurses are encouraged to exert their influence in the realm of public policy, particularly policies related to the nursing profession, the health care system and the health of their clients. Media advocacy can be used by nursing organizations to mobilize public support on policy issues in order to influence policy makers. This article retrospectively examined the media advocacy efforts of nursing stakeholders in Saskatchewan, Canada in response to a new government policy that would have impacted educational requirements for licensure as a registered nurse (RN) in that province. Print media sources from the period January to March, 2000 were examined to determine the specific media advocacy techniques used by nursing organizations within the framework of the policy cycle. The success of nursing stakeholders in reversing the government position highlights the effectiveness of media advocacy as a tool to disseminate messages from the nursing profession in order to impact policy.
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