First-Time Mothers Have a Desire to Be Offered Professional Breastfeeding Support by Pediatric Nurses: An Evaluation of the Mother-Perceived-Professional Support Scale

Abstract

Background. Although the World Health Organization recommends exclusive breastfeeding for six months, the rate of breastfeeding has decreased worldwide. Breastfeeding is the natural way of feeding a baby, but it is a process that has to be learnt. It is not unusual for problems to occur and hence support for breastfeeding is vital. The aim of this study was to explore first-time mothers’ experiences of the breastfeeding support offered by pediatric nurses, as well as to develop and evaluate the Mother Perceived Support from Professionals (MoPPS) scale. Methods. A qualitative design involving both inductive and deductive approaches was chosen. Nine first-time mothers were interviewed regarding their experiences of the breastfeeding support offered by pediatric nurses. Semistructured interviews were conducted. The mothers were also asked to grade their experiences of breastfeeding support on the MoPPS scale. A qualitative content analysis was applied when analyzing the data obtained using both the inductive (interviews) and deductive (MoPPS scale) approaches. Results. The results revealed that the mothers felt the desire to breastfeed, although they all experienced some difficulties. They wanted the pediatric nurses to be perceptive and provide professional support based on their own experiences. When the pediatric nurses took time and booked extra appointments, the mothers felt supported. The inductive analysis resulted in one theme: “When wanting to breastfeed, mothers have a desire to be offered professional breastfeeding support”. Two main categories were identified, namely “Mothers wanted but lacked breastfeeding support” and “Mothers received professional support.” The deductive analysis of the MoPPS scale showed similar results, and the questions were perceived as relevant to the aim. The mothers considered it important that the pediatric nurses had sufficient knowledge about breastfeeding. It was also considered important that the pediatric nurses involved the mothers’ partners in the breastfeeding support. Therefore, we suggest that these areas should be included in the MoPPS scale for pediatric nurses. Conclusions. The MoPPS scale can be a useful tool for helping pediatric nurses to offer mothers professional breastfeeding support. Indeed, when offering breastfeeding support, pediatric nurses can use the items included on the MoPPS scale as guidance.

Experiences that influence how trained providers support women with breastfeeding: A systematic review of qualitative evidence

“…If providers experience under-resourcing they make decisions about care priorities and breastfeeding support is not prioritised. These findings support the work of other studies linking understaffing and lack of time with lack of breastfeeding support provision [75,79,80] and women's perceptions that providers are unable to provide breastfeeding support due to a lack of time and resources within healthcare organisations [75,77]. Funding cuts to breastfeeding support services are therefore not only detrimental to women's breastfeeding experiences [81] but also detrimental to provider development.…”

Factors Influencing Uptake of Breastfeeding: The Role of Early Promotion in the Maternity Hospital

“…The health worker dedicated to following the mother immediately after giving birth will determine the success of the effective promotion more than all the prenatal courses and information previously received. A study reports that when the pediatric nurses took time and booked extra appointments, the mothers felt supported [ 65 ].…”

Hidden Realities of Infant Feeding: Systematic Review of Qualitative Findings from Parents

“…Parents desired professional and individualized instruction regarding infant feeding that was in keeping with their attitudes, beliefs, culture, and feeding decision from various sources [83], including physicians, pediatric nurses, lactation consultants, or professionals working in health care centers or public nutrition programs, described collectively here as health care providers (HCP). In contrast, studies illuminated that many parents found "infant feeding advice, support, and education from their HCP inadequate, missing completely, inconsistent or contradictory" [36][37][38]41,42,44,46,[49][50][51]53,55,57,63,72,74,76,83,97,98,103,104]. As identified within some studies, while it is important to promote and maintain BF, it is also necessary to ensure that the care, education, and needs of parents and their infants that are not BF are met [74,76], without stigmatizing parents who do not BF [68].…”