Breastfeeding rates among African-American women lag behind all other ethnic groups. National data show that only 45% of African-American women reported ever breastfeeding compared to 66 and 68% of Hispanic and white women, respectively. Of African-American women who do choose to breastfeed, duration is short, with many discontinuing in the first days after birth. This report applies a social e...

AIM This paper reports on a study examining the relationship between women's psychological characteristics and breastfeeding duration, after controlling for socio-demographic factors. BACKGROUND The literature suggests that psychological factors may influence breastfeeding behaviour, but studies are few. Existing evidence and the results of phase 1 of our study were used to construct a list o...

BACKGROUND Despite the importance of multiple psychosocial factors on nutrition-related behavior, very few studies have explored beyond the role of mothers' knowledge and perception of child-focused outcomes on the duration of exclusive breastfeeding in Africa. Our objective was to determine the relationships among mothers' knowledge, outcome expectancies, normative beliefs, and cessation of ex...

INTRODUCTION This is an observational study which was carried out at a level one health facility in Yaoundé from June to July 2009. The aim was to evaluate the competence of health care providers towards newborns' care at birth METHODS Ten health care providers took care of three hundred and thirty-five pregnant women who were enrolled for the study after informed verbal consent in the delive...

BACKGROUND The role of childcare workers at registered nurseries in supporting exclusive breastfeeding practice is important, as many newborn babies are placed in nurseries during working hours. To increase exclusive breastfeeding rates among working mothers, understanding childcare workers' experiences and needs relating to supporting these mothers is crucial. This study aimed to explore child...

OBJECTIVES There is a dearth of information on the long-term maternal effects of breastfeeding. The objective of this study was to examine adherence to breastfeeding recommendations of exclusive breastfeeding for ≥4 months and continuation of breastfeeding for ≥1 year and maternal weight retention 6 years after delivery. METHODS Using data from the Infant Feeding Practices Study II (IFPS II),...

OBJECTIVE We characterized breastfeeding concerns from open-text maternal responses and determined their association with stopping breastfeeding by 60 days (stopping breastfeeding) and feeding any formula between 30 and 60 days (formula use). METHODS We assessed breastfeeding support, intentions, and concerns in 532 expectant primiparas and conducted follow-up interviews at 0, 3, 7, 14, 30, a...

OBJECTIVE Public awareness of the benefits of breastfeeding is expected to increase during and after the national, federally funded Best Start Breastfeeding Promotion Campaign. It is anticipated that this will result in more breastfeeding-based interactions between families and pediatricians. The American Academy of Pediatrics conducted a survey of its members to identify their educational need...

PURPOSE The objective of this study was to examine the factors associated with initiation and continuation of breastfeeding among Korean women in relation to their employment status. METHODS Data were collected using a web-based self-administered questionnaire from 1,031 Korean mothers living in Seoul with babies younger than 24 months. Demographic characteristics, education on breastfeeding,...

BACKGROUND Although the importance of breastfeeding is well known in Japan, in recent years less than 50% of mothers were fully breastfeeding at one month after birth. The purpose of this study was to develop a self-care program for breastfeeding aimed at increasing mothers' breastfeeding confidence and to evaluate its effectiveness. METHODS A quasi-experimental pretest-posttest design was co...