Alzheimer’s disease remains a pressing public health concern, ranking as the fifth leading cause of…
Much research has highlighted the dynamic, biologically specific nature of human milk and the unmatched benefits of breastfeeding for both mother and child. A growing body of research also shows that – like most any health behavior – establishing and maintaining breastfeeding is challenging and requires education and support.
However, in my work as a birth doula, labor & delivery nurse, and women’s health advocate, I often observed a discrepancy between mothers’ breastfeeding and lactation related support needs versus the breastfeeding and lactation support which they received.
While the terms “breastfeeding support” and/or “lactation support” are used often in the literature and in clinical practice, there is much discrepancy as to precisely what breastfeeding and lactation support encompasses. I could not find a comprehensive definition of breastfeeding and lactation support in the literature; thus, I situated my qualifying exam work within this gap. Using a method of concept analysis geared toward the examination of a concept across time and contexts (Rodger’s Evolutionary Method of Concept Analysis), I sought to bring together public descriptions and perceptions of breastfeeding and lactation support (BFLS), the various definitions of BFLS described in scholarly literature, and perspectives of healthcare practitioners regarding BFLS and their role in its provision. (See linked abstract for details of this analysis and the full spectrum definition of BFLS which I arrived at).
After completing my qualifying exam, I submitted the written form of this concept analysis to the journal Birth: Issues in Perinatal Care (still under review as of September 2024). In addition to pursuing written dissemination of this work, I wanted to engage in conversation around the topic with others involved in the care of breastfeeding women.
Thus, the goal of this project was to present my findings from this concept analysis and engage in dialogue with some key stakeholders: women’s health, obstetric, and neonatal nurses.
In June of 2024, I traveled with Dr. Diane Spatz – my primary advisor and the chair of my qualifying exam – to the National Convention for the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric, and Neonatal Nursing (AWHONN) [insert photo]. At the convention, I was given the opportunity to present a research poster and dialogue with nurses from around the country on the topic of an expansive, research-based idea of what the full-spectrum of BFLS might look like. We discussed attendees’ perceptions of what constitutes BFLS and placed their perceptions in dialogue with the descriptions and definitions that I had found when conducting the concept analysis. These conversations were both a privilege and a challenge: I was met by many with enthusiasm around the importance of the work but felt that some regarded the concept with indifference. Overall, I am so grateful to have had this opportunity to engage with bedside nurses, public health nurses, and nurse-researchers around this topic.
Now, I am building on this analysis to propose a qualitative study of mothers’ perceptions of healthcare-based BFLS, with particular attention to mothers’ perceptions of access to perinatal BFLS. My goal is to gain further insight on how the full spectrum of high quality BFLS may be made more accessible as a standard of care to all mothers who desire to breastfeed.