School of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health Sciences, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia.
BMC Complement Altern Med. 2014 Jul 2;14:216. doi: 10.1186/1472-6882-14-216.
Some herbal galactagogues have gained reputation and recognition by the public and health professionals as alternative approaches to increase breast milk supply. This study explores the perspectives and attitudes of breastfeeding women towards the use of herbal galactagogues while breastfeeding, their experiences, and why and how they have chosen an alternative option over conventional treatments to enhance breastfeeding performance.
This exploratory research was conducted through in-depth semi-structured interviews with women living in Perth, Western Australia, who were using one or more herbal galactagogues during breastfeeding. Purposeful and subsequent snowball sampling methods were employed to recruit participants. All interviews, facilitated by an interview guide, were audio-recorded, then transcribed verbatim. Thematic analysis was used to analyse qualitative data to construct themes and subthemes.
The perspectives and attitudes of the 20 participants are classified under three main headings: i) use of herbal medicines during breastfeeding, ii) available herbal medicines resources, and iii) level of breastfeeding support received. Throughout the interviews, participants described how their perseverance and determination to breastfeed, as well as concerns over breastfed infants' safety with conventional treatments, influenced their choice of therapy. A sense of self-efficacy and autonomy over their own health needs was seen as influential to their confidence level, supported self-empowerment and provided reassurance throughout the breastfeeding journey. There was also a desire for more evidence-based information and expectations of health professionals to provide credible and reliable information regarding the use of herbal medicines during breastfeeding.
This study has enhanced our understanding of the perspectives and attitudes of breastfeeding women towards the use of herbal medicines, in particular galactagogues, while breastfeeding. The positive attitudes of breastfeeding women identified in this study highlight the need for further research into evaluating the safety and efficacy of commonly used herbal galactagogues, whilst the negative views on breastfeeding education should be taken into consideration when implementing or improving breastfeeding-related health policies.
一些草药催乳剂因其能增加母乳供应而受到公众和健康专业人士的认可和重视。本研究探讨了母乳喂养妇女在母乳喂养期间使用草药催乳剂的观点和态度、她们的经验，以及为什么选择替代方案而不是传统治疗方法来提高母乳喂养效果。
本探索性研究通过对居住在澳大利亚珀斯的母乳喂养妇女进行深入的半结构化访谈进行，这些妇女在母乳喂养期间使用了一种或多种草药催乳剂。采用有目的的和随后的滚雪球抽样方法招募参与者。所有访谈均由访谈指南协助进行录音，然后逐字转录。使用主题分析对定性数据进行分析，以构建主题和子主题。
20 名参与者的观点和态度分为三个主要标题：i）在母乳喂养期间使用草药，ii）可用的草药资源，以及 iii）获得的母乳喂养支持程度。在整个访谈过程中，参与者描述了她们坚持和决心母乳喂养，以及对传统治疗方法对母乳喂养婴儿安全的担忧，如何影响她们的治疗选择。对自身健康需求的自我效能感和自主权被视为对她们信心水平的影响因素，支持自我赋权并在整个母乳喂养过程中提供安慰。参与者还希望获得更多基于证据的信息，并期望健康专业人员提供有关在母乳喂养期间使用草药的可信和可靠信息。
本研究增进了我们对母乳喂养妇女在母乳喂养期间使用草药（特别是催乳剂）的观点和态度的理解。本研究中确定的母乳喂养妇女的积极态度突出表明需要进一步研究评估常用草药催乳剂的安全性和有效性，而对母乳喂养教育的负面看法应在实施或改进与母乳喂养相关的健康政策时加以考虑。
