Resistance to breastfeeding: A Foucauldian analysis of breastfeeding support from health professionals

Alianmoghaddam, Narges; Phibbs, Suzanne; Benn, Cheryl

doi:10.1016/j.wombi.2017.05.005

Cited by 35 publications

(48 citation statements)

References 43 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…It is well established that breastfeeding is important for the short and long term health and wellbeing of mothers and babies [1], however, many Australian women do not meet global benchmarks [2], nor their own personal breastfeeding goals [3]. Women report, both in Australia [4] and internationally [5][6][7], that early breastfeeding support from health professionals is insu cient, inadequate, at times inappropriate and ceases after the rst couple of weeks [8]. The latest Cochrane review (2017) [9], on support for breastfeeding mothers, states that the factors which improve ongoing and exclusive breastfeeding include face to face support, peer and/or professional support, and trained personnel.…”

Section: Page 3/20mentioning

confidence: 99%

Breastfeeding support at an Australian Breastfeeding Association drop-in service: a descriptive survey

Burns

Duursma

Triandafilidis

2020

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

BackgroundIn Australia, during the early establishment phase of breastfeeding, women can access telephone peer support counselling provided by the Australian Breastfeeding Association (ABA) however options for face-to-face peer support are limited. The known factors which improve ongoing and exclusive breastfeeding include face-to-face support, peer and/or professional support, and trained personnel. This study aimed to examine women’s experiences of accessing one breastfeeding drop-in peer support service provided by trained peer support volunteer counsellors from the ABA.MethodsWomen who accessed the service were invited, in 2014, to participate in an anonymous online survey which collected both quantitative and qualitative data. Participants were asked about their experiences of breastfeeding support, as well as their experiences of the drop-in service. In total, 53 women completed the online survey, and subsequent analysis generated descriptive statistics and qualitative themes.ResultsResponses to the survey revealed that women attended the drop-in service with infants ranging in age from less than 1 week through to 12 months of age. Most women reported attending with infants aged 0-8 weeks of age (72%). The predominant presenting problems identified were sore/damaged nipples, difficulties with infant latching to the breast, or concerns about using nipple shields. Analysis of the open text qualitative responses revealed one overarching theme ‘Support to continue breastfeeding’ and four subthemes: ‘feeling listened to and not judged’; ‘emotional support and confidence building’; ‘the importance of face-to-face, practical support'; and ‘the need for ongoing, free access’.DiscussionIn this study many women were seeking support for ongoing breastfeeding difficulties. Health professionals who had limited breastfeeding knowledge and skills were identified as most unhelpful in providing support with ongoing breastfeeding difficulties. Women valued having access to trained peer counsellors, who had the capacity to provide non-judgemental, face-to-face support; who could sit through a feed; in a space that was ‘safe’; and who could enhance a woman’s confidence with breastfeeding over the course of her full breastfeeding journey.ConclusionReactive peer support, provided in response to need, at an Australian Breastfeeding Association drop-in service, was described by participants as pivotal to enabling their ongoing breastfeeding.

show abstract

Section: Page 3/20mentioning

confidence: 99%

Breastfeeding support at an Australian Breastfeeding Association drop-in service: a descriptive survey

Burns

Duursma

Triandafilidis

2020

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Decisions related to infant feeding are largely subject to the weighty gaze of health care professionals, family, friends and strangers; pressures to conform to societal norms and ideals are pervasive in the context of infant feeding. Narratives such as 'breast is best' as well as reference to breast(chest) milk as 'liquid gold' dominate public and institutional discourses that perpetuate the belief that breast(chest) milk is best for the baby; however, much has also been written about the harm that this belief has on those who cannot or choose not to breast(chest)feed (Thomson, Ebisch-Burton & Flacking, 2015;Alianmoghaddam, Phibbs & Benn, 2017;Aston, 2002Aston, , 2006Aston, , 2008. Murphy (1999Murphy ( , 2000 identifies that regardless of whether infants are bottle/formula or breast(chest)fed, mothers (or primary feeding parents) face what she calls a 'moral minefield' wherein breast(chest) milk is presented as the 'right choice' associated with being a 'good mother' and bottle/formula feeding is the 'wrong choice' tied to being a 'bad' mother.…”

Section: A Concise Overview Of Relevant Infant Feeding Discoursesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The applicability and relevance of FPS as a guiding framework for nursing practice and research has been effectively demonstrated in a number of health care settings and across a diverse spectrum of populations, including (but not limited to): sexual health, postpartum home visits, bereavement follow-up, eHealth and obesity (Richardson, Goldberg, Aston & Campbell-Yeo, 2018;Cassidy, Goldberg & Aston, 2016;Aston et al, 2015;MacConnell, Aston, Randel & Zwaagstra, 2012;Aston, Price, Kirk & Penney, 2012). In the context of infant feeding, authors such as Johnson et al (2009) and Alianmoghaddam, Phibbs & Benn (2017) have applied FPS and other poststructural forms of analysis to explore this construct. As mentioned above, no studies to date could be identified that applied FPS to infant feeding interactions located specifically within the neonatal intensive care environment.…”

Section: Relevance Of Fps To Clinical Nursing Practice and Scholarshipmentioning

confidence: 99%

Applying Feminist Poststructuralism as a Framework for Exploring Infant Feeding Interactions in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

Wijlen

Aston²

2019

CJCND

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Childbearing/rearing families in Canada face a variety of conflicting discourses related to infant feeding, entrenched in a complex web of gendered, social, institutional and political discourses. For parents of preterm and/or critically ill infants, this area remains largely under-explored through a feminist lens. We offer a critical examination of the applicability of feminist poststructuralism (FPS) as a theory to explore infant feeding interactions in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Scholarly literature from diverse perspectives, including nursing, healthcare, gender studies, and social sciences is critiqued and the use of FPS as a guiding framework for nursing research and praxis is discussed. We discuss FPS and the relevance of various discourses to explore the phenomenon of infant feeding interactions in the NICU. Ultimately, we propose that FPS does offer a relevant lens through which to critically examine infant feeding interactions and bring voice to the complex processes embedded in the NICU.

show abstract

“…It is well established that breastfeeding is important for the short and long term health and wellbeing of mothers and babies (Victora, Bahl et al 2016), however, many Australian women do not meet global benchmarks (AIHW 2011), nor their own personal breastfeeding goals (Hauck, Blixt et al 2016). Women report, both in Australia (Sheehan, Schmied et al 2009) and internationally (Alianmoghaddam, Phibbs et al 2017, Haile, Elmasry et al 2017, Wallenborn and Masho 2018) that early breastfeeding support from health professionals is insufficient, inadequate, at times inappropriate and ceases after the first couple of weeks (Schmied, Beake et al 2011). The latest Cochrane review (2017), on support for breastfeeding mothers, states that the factors which improve ongoing and exclusive breastfeeding include face to face support, peer and/or professional support, and trained personnel (McFadden, Gavine et al 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reactive breastfeeding support at an Australian Breastfeeding Association drop-in service

Burns

Duursma

Triandafilidis

2020

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background In Australia, during the early establishment phase of breastfeeding, women can access telephone peer support counselling provided by the Australian Breastfeeding Association (ABA) however options for face-to-face peer support are limited. The known factors which improve ongoing and exclusive breastfeeding include face-to-face support, peer and/or professional support, and trained personnel. This study aimed to examine women’s experiences of accessing one breastfeeding drop-in peer support service provided by trained peer support volunteer counsellors from the ABA.Methods Women who accessed the service were invited to participate in an anonymous online survey which collected both quantitative and qualitative data. Participants were asked about their experiences of breastfeeding support, as well as their experiences of the drop-in service. In total, 53 women completed the online survey, and subsequent analysis generated descriptive statistics and qualitative themes.Findings Responses to the survey revealed that women attended the drop-in lounge with infants ranging in age from less than 1 week through to 12 months of age. Most women reported attending with infants aged 0-8 weeks of age 72% (n37). The predominant presenting problems identified were sore/damaged nipples, difficulties with infant latching to the breast, or concerns about using nipple shields. Analysis of the open text qualitative responses revealed one overarching theme ‘Support to continue breastfeeding’ and four subthemes: ‘feeling listened to and not judged’; ‘emotional support and confidence building’; ‘the importance of face-to-face, practical support'; and ‘the need for ongoing, free access’.Discussion In this study many women were seeking support for ongoing breastfeeding difficulties. Some were referred to health professional’s for investigation of restricted tongue movement. Health professionals who had limited breastfeeding knowledge and skills were identified as most unhelpful in providing support with ongoing breastfeeding difficulties. Women valued having access to trained peer counsellors, who had the capacity to provide non-judgemental, face-to-face support; who could sit through a feed; in a space that was ‘safe’; and who could enhance a woman’s confidence with breastfeeding over the course of her full breastfeeding journey.Conclusion Women described the importance of access to a reactive drop-in service which was dedicated to breastfeeding support and which was available in response to need.

show abstract

Resistance to breastfeeding: A Foucauldian analysis of breastfeeding support from health professionals

Cited by 35 publications

References 43 publications

Breastfeeding support at an Australian Breastfeeding Association drop-in service: a descriptive survey

Breastfeeding support at an Australian Breastfeeding Association drop-in service: a descriptive survey

Applying Feminist Poststructuralism as a Framework for Exploring Infant Feeding Interactions in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

Reactive breastfeeding support at an Australian Breastfeeding Association drop-in service

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About