The purpose of this study was to explore and describe the experiences of women who breastfed their children in Japan's postwar period when breast milk substitutes were not readily available. Methods The subjects of the study were 13 healthy elderly women who gave birth to their first child in 1955 or earlier, and who raised their infants on breast milk. Information on women's experiences breastfeeding their children were gathered mainly from semi-structured interviews. The interview data were recorded after obtaining the consent of the women. Afterwards, transcripts were prepared and a qualitative inductive analysis was performed with reference to the methods of ethnography. Results Four categories such as: "good lactation and physicality", "positive thought and behavior toward the continuation of breastfeeding"; "psychosocial involvement toward breastfeeding by others"; and "affirmative self-concept of themselves as mothers", along with the following sixteen subcategories including as: [the continuation of good lactation]; [a lifestyle promoting natural lactation]; [nursing continuation and contraception effect]; [acquisition of knowledge and information about breastfeeding]; [nursing custom assuming autonomous feeding]; [experience of the pleasant feeling that nursing brings]; [extension of weaning time]; [firm convictions as to the value of breastfeeding]; [pain and distress from restricted free nursing]; [another person's decision as to breast milk deprivation]; [strong support and trust of mother]; [nursing support that a midwife makes a difference]; [cooperation among community through back up of mother's milk]; [guarding and passing on breastfeeding tradition and experience]; [smooth acquisition of breastfeeding skills and confidence in child care]; and [formation development of high maternal role awareness]. These were extracted from the descriptive data on the breastfeeding of these 13 women. Conclusion In Japan's postwar reconstruction years breast milk substitutes were not readily available, and women who experienced breastfeeding at that time were self-aware with regard to good lactation; they inherited the psychosocial involvement toward breastfeeding by others; they had a positive attitude and behavior with regard to the continuation of breastfeeding; and may be assumed to have had an affirmative self-concept of themselves as mothers through the act of raising their children on breast milk. These women and their families were motivated by the belief that "there is only mother's milk to bring up my child".
The purpose of this study was to first develop a scale to measure the sense of difficulty continuing work felt by individual midwives to provide career building support for midwives working at hospitals and then test the reliability and validity of the scale. MethodsQuestions for the scale were selected based on the literature and past studies on the sense of difficulty continuing work that focused on midwives, and a draft scale to measure the sense of difficulty continuing work among midwives working at hospitals was developed. Experts assessed the appropriateness of the questions, and a revised draft of the scale was developed with 47 questions. Questionnaires were subsequently administered to 694 midwives working at hospitals and clinics to test the reliability and validity of the scale. ResultsValid responses were received from 509 midwives (response rate: 87.8%). Nine items were removed based on the results of item analysis. Factor analysis was conducted (major factor method, promax rotation) and the number of items was adjusted according to the criteria. The final scale had a five-factor structure comprising 23 items: five items in factor I [Factors related to building relationships]; five items in factor II [Factors related to duties as a midwife]; five items in factor III [Factors related to utilizing expertise]; five items in factor IV [Factors related to flexible adjustment of work methods]; and three items in factor V [Factors related to work roles]. The temporary model was examined using confirmatory factor analysis, which showed an acceptable fit. Known-groups validity comparisons revealed significantly higher total scores for midwives who wanted to quit than for midwives who wanted to continue working and midwives who wanted to continue working for a fixed term (p<0.001). Strong correlations were observed between total scale score and the subscales of the Brief Job Stress Questionnaire (r=−0.55 to −0.78). Cronbach's alpha coefficient for the scale was 0.91. Stability was confirmed with the re-test method (r=0.77). ConclusionsThe scale to measure the sense of difficulty continuing work among midwives working at hospitals comprised 23 questions in five factors and was confirmed to be both reliable and valid. This scale may be an effective tool for assessing the sense of difficulty continuing work in midwives working at hospitals.
The present study aimed to clarify the experiences of midwives caring for mothers considering relinquishing their baby for adoption and to obtain suggestions for improving the quality of midwifery care for these birth mothers. Subjects and Methods Semi-structured interviews were conducted with nine midwives working at medical facilities that have experience with providing care for pregnant women considering relinquishing their baby for adoption. Responses regarding the kind of care provided to birth mothers and midwives' thoughts and feelings during care provision were qualitatively and descriptively analyzed from the perspective of understanding midwives' experiences during care provision for birth mothers. Results Working in coordination with support groups and ward staff, midwives experienced providing care for birth mothers as part of a unified team. They accepted the birth mothers, who presented at the hospital under complicated circumstances, and experienced making a committed effort to provide unbiased midwifery care while also supporting birth mothers toward an emotionally and physically healthy pregnancy and delivery. Furthermore, they experienced sensing the growing maternal feelings and protecting birth mothers' right to provide a support for watching and touching a baby. Also, they experienced swirling ethical conflicts during the process of supporting birth mothers choosing adoption, while calmly watching over the extremes of the decision-making process and feeling the pain of the birth mothers choosing adoption. At the same time, in order to uphold their responsibility as a healthcare provider, they experienced attempting to avoid involving emotions and conflict in their care. While feelings of dissatisfaction remained after the end of care provision, the midwives had also embarked on the process of recognizing care provision as a skill and deriving new perspectives and awareness of issues in midwifery care through involvement in these cases, such as learning how to respond to birth mothers. Conclusion The present findings indicate the importance of midwives recognizing that conflict and a need for emotional regulation may arise during care for birth mothers and of creating opportunities for sharing their feelings with their team.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.