ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To explore the feasibility of using motivational interviewing to promote sustained breastfeeding by increasing a mother's intent to breastfeed for 6 months and increasing her breastfeeding self-efficacy. DESIGN: A longitudinal experimental two-group design with repeated measures was selected to explore the feasibility of using motivational interviewing to promote sustained breastfeeding in primiparous mothers. SETTING: Three Western rural community hospital sites. PARTICIPANTS: Convenience sample of 73 primiparous breastfeeding mothers ranging between the ages of 19 and 38, M = 25 (SD = 4.5). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Mothers reported the date of their last day of breastfeeding, defined as any breastfeeding during the previous 24-hour period. Breastfeeding behavior was confirmed at each visit by infant test weights. RESULTS: The motivational interviewing group (M = 98.1 days, SD = 75.2) breastfed longer than the comparison group (M= 80.7 days, SD = 71.9); however, this difference was not significant, t(69) = 0.991, p = .325, Cohen's d = 0.24, related to the variability in the sample. CONCLUSIONS: Although not a statistically significant difference, the mean number of days that mothers in the intervention group breastfed was 98 days compared to the mean of 81 days by the comparison group; therefore, motivational interviewing may be useful as a strategy to test in a comprehensive intervention plan.
Subject(s)
Breast Feeding , Counseling/methods , Health Promotion/methods , Infant Care/methods , Mother-Child Relations , Motivation , Female , Health Education/methods , Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice , Humans , Infant, Newborn , Longitudinal Studies , Maternal Behavior , Maternal-Child Nursing , Sucking BehaviorABSTRACT
This paper addresses the meaningfulness of the childbearing experience and how a traumatic occurrence can affect women for years into the future. Every woman deserves to have a fulfilling childbearing experience, even if it may be different from the one she imagined. This paper examines the phenomenon of previous traumatic birth and its potential effects on choices during subsequent pregnancies. Discussion includes how childbirth educators can assist women in healing from past birth traumas and preventing them from recurring.