School of Public Health, Indiana University , Bloomington, IN , USA.
Department of Health Sciences, College of Health and Human Development, California State University Northridge , Northridge, CA , USA.
Front Public Health. 2015 Dec 21;3:273. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2015.00273. eCollection 2015.
There are health benefits to breastfeeding for both mothers and their children. The preventive health effects of breastfeeding continue into adulthood, lowering rate of various chronic illnesses. African-American women, especially of lower socioeconomic status, are less likely to breastfeed in comparison to their racial and ethnic counterparts. The purpose of this study is to explore how African-American women experience breastfeeding in the early stages of postpartum care. Two focus groups (N = 20, 10 in each group) were conducted with African-American mothers. Results revealed that participants felt that there were health benefits to breastfeeding, and organizations such as Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) provided support. However, participants stated that lack of information, negative perceptions, and unforeseen circumstances were barriers to breastfeeding. This study proposes support and interventions for this group to increase breastfeeding among this population.
母乳喂养对母亲和儿童都有健康益处。母乳喂养的预防保健作用会持续到成年，降低各种慢性病的发病率。与其他族裔的女性相比，非裔美国女性，尤其是社会经济地位较低的女性，更倾向于不进行母乳喂养。本研究旨在探讨非裔美国女性在产后早期护理阶段的母乳喂养体验。对 20 名非裔美国母亲进行了两次焦点小组讨论（每组 10 名）。结果表明，参与者认为母乳喂养有健康益处，妇女、婴儿和儿童组织（WIC）提供了支持。然而，参与者表示，缺乏信息、负面看法和意外情况是母乳喂养的障碍。本研究为该群体提出了支持和干预措施，以增加该人群的母乳喂养率。
