Helps Catherine, Barclay Lesley
Health Education and Training Institute, Lismore, NSW 2480, Australia.
Sydney University Centre for Rural Health, School of Public Health, Lismore, NSW 2480, Australia.
Women Birth. 2015 Jun;28(2):129-36. doi: 10.1016/j.wombi.2014.12.004. Epub 2015 Jan 22.
Aboriginal women in rural areas have lower rates of breastfeeding than Australian averages. The reasons for this are poorly understood. Aboriginal people experience higher morbidity and increased rates of chronic disease throughout the life cycle. The protective effects of sustained breastfeeding could benefit rural Aboriginal communities.
To explore the factors impacting upon infant feeding choices in a rural Aboriginal Community.
Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight Aboriginal rural dwelling first time mothers. These women received a continuity of midwife and Aboriginal Health Worker model of care. Interviews were also undertaken with five Aboriginal Health Workers and two Aboriginal community breastfeeding champions. The analysis was integrated with a conventional literature review and was further developed and illustrated with historical literature. Indigenist methodology guided the study design, analysis and the dissemination of results.
Three key themes were identified. These were "I'm doing the best thing for..." which encompasses the motivations underpinning infant feeding decisions; "this is what I know..." which explores individual and community knowledge regarding infant feeding; and "a safe place to feed" identifying the barriers that negative societal messages pose for women as they make infant feeding decisions. It appears loss of family and community breastfeeding knowledge resulting from colonisation still influences the Aboriginal women of today.
Aboriginal women value and trust knowledge which is passed to them from extended family members and women within their Community. Cultural, historical and socioeconomic factors all strongly influence the infant feeding decisions of individuals in this study.
Efforts to normalise breastfeeding in the culture of rural dwelling Aboriginal women and their supporting community appear to be necessary and may promote breastfeeding more effectively than optimal professional care of individuals can do.
农村地区的原住民妇女母乳喂养率低于澳大利亚平均水平。对此原因人们了解甚少。原住民在整个生命周期中发病率较高且慢性病患病率不断上升。持续母乳喂养的保护作用可能会使农村原住民社区受益。
探讨影响一个农村原住民社区婴儿喂养选择的因素。
对八名居住在农村的原住民初产妇进行了半结构化访谈。这些妇女接受了助产士和原住民健康工作者连续护理模式。还对五名原住民健康工作者和两名原住民社区母乳喂养倡导者进行了访谈。分析与传统文献综述相结合，并通过历史文献进一步完善和阐释。本土方法论指导了研究设计、分析和结果传播。
确定了三个关键主题。分别是“我在为……做最好的事”，其中包含婴儿喂养决策背后的动机；“这是我所知道的……”，探讨了关于婴儿喂养的个人和社区知识；以及“一个安全的喂养场所”，确定了负面社会信息在妇女做出婴儿喂养决策时所造成的障碍。殖民化导致的家庭和社区母乳喂养知识的丧失似乎仍在影响着当今的原住民妇女。
原住民妇女重视并信任从大家庭成员和社区内其他妇女那里获得的知识。文化、历史和社会经济因素都强烈影响了本研究中个体的婴儿喂养决策。
在农村居住的原住民妇女及其支持社区的文化中使母乳喂养常态化的努力似乎是必要的，并且可能比为个体提供的最佳专业护理更有效地促进母乳喂养。
