Breastfeeding among Adolescent Mothers

Abstract

Despite growing evidence of the benefits of breastfeeding, rates of breastfeeding remain disproportionately low among adolescent mothers compared with older mothers in the United States. Current interventions primarily target adult women, and little evidence is available for breastfeeding promotion among young women. Accordingly, we aim to review interventions designed to improve breastfeeding rates among adolescents to make recommendations for future research and practice. We searched MEDLINE and PsycINFO for articles that evaluated interventions aiming to improve rates of breastfeeding initiation, duration, or exclusivity among adolescents. Inclusion criteria included interventions targeting pregnant or postpartum adolescents (mean/median age <22 years) that were conducted in high-income settings. Six interventions met our inclusion criteria; of these, 4 interventions aimed to increase breastfeeding initiation, 5 aimed to increase breastfeeding duration, and 4 aimed to increase breastfeeding exclusivity. Interventions included school-based programs, home visits, and telephone support that were implemented by a combination of peer counselors, nurse clinicians, doulas, and lactation consultants. Only 1 intervention, a combination of education and counseling provided by a lactation consultant-peer counselor team, significantly improved both breastfeeding initiation and duration. Other results were mixed, and studies were subject to several methodological limitations. We recommend that more interventions should be developed and evaluated. In addition, interventions should be less resource intensive, be more theoretically driven, and specifically include mothers and partners of adolescents to successfully promote breastfeeding among adolescent mothers.

Factors associated with the maintenance of breastfeeding for 6, 12, and 24 months in adolescent mothers

“…Maternal grandmother support of breastfeeding showed a significant association with breastfeeding maintenance for at least 6 and 12 months, but not for 24 months, despite the magnitude of the association. This finding is not surprising, as receiving breastfeeding support from different sources – especially from the adolescent mother’s mother – is known to foster the practice [ 29 , 30 ]. A recent systematic review demonstrated that the opinion of the infant’s maternal grandmother regarding breastfeeding influences maternal decisions: when positive, it may increase by 12% the likelihood of the mother initiating breastfeeding; when negative, it may reduce by 70% the likelihood of breastfeeding [ 31 ].…”

Dificuldades Iniciais Com a Técnica Da Amamentação E Fatores Associados a Problemas Com a Mama Em Puérperas

“…There are, however, records that teenage mothers provide less breast milk to their children in relation to the others, and also have more difficulties to initiate the practice of breastfeeding. 17 , 18 , 19 However, the studies do not refer to breastfeeding aspects among the teenagers assessed. It is possible that anatomical factors of the puerperal breasts of teenagers may lead to more vulnerability regarding the difficulties presented, but this aspect was not assessed in this study.…”

Effect of a pro-breastfeeding intervention on the maintenance of breastfeeding for 2 years or more: randomized clinical trial with adolescent mothers and grandmothers

“…the need for the adolescents to shift from their role as daughters to the role of mothers, the instability of their love relationships, financial and emotional dependence on the family, higher rates of postpartum depression [ 1 ], as well as distortions of self-image and self-esteem typical of this age range [ 22 ], the results reported for adult women can rarely be extrapolated to adolescent mothers. In a recent systematic review conducted to assess the effect of pro-breastfeeding interventions on the rates of breastfeeding in adolescent mothers from developed countries, Sipsma et al [ 23 ] pointed to the urgent need for more clinical trials designed to test new interventions targeted specifically at adolescent mothers. Moreover, those authors recommended the inclusion of the adolescent mothers’ mothers and partners in the interventions, a feature that was absent in the studies included in their review.…”