School of Health and Related Research (ScHARR), University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK.
Mother and Infant Research Unit, School of Nursing and Health Sciences, University of Dundee, Dundee, UK.
BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. 2018 Jan 8;18(1):20. doi: 10.1186/s12884-017-1651-7.
A cluster randomised controlled trial of a financial incentive for breastfeeding conducted in areas with low breastfeeding rates in the UK reported a statistically significant increase in breastfeeding at 6-8 weeks. In this paper we report an analysis of interviews with women eligible for the scheme, exploring their experiences and perceptions of the scheme and its impact on breastfeeding to support the interpretation of the results of the trial.
Semi-structured interviews were carried out with 35 women eligible for the scheme during the feasibility and trial stages. All interviews were recorded and verbatim transcripts analysed using a Framework Analysis approach.
Women reported that their decisions about infant feeding were influenced by the behaviours and beliefs of their family and friends, socio-cultural norms and by health and practical considerations. They were generally positive about the scheme, and felt valued for the effort involved in breastfeeding. The vouchers were frequently described as a reward, a bonus and something to look forward to, and helping women keep going with their breastfeeding. They were often perceived as compensation for the difficulties women encountered during breastfeeding. The scheme was not thought to make a difference to mothers who were strongly against breastfeeding. However, women did believe the scheme would help normalise breastfeeding, influence those who were undecided and help women to keep going with breastfeeding and reach key milestones e.g. 6 weeks or 3 months.
The scheme was acceptable to women, who perceived it as rewarding and valuing them for breastfeeding. Women reported that the scheme could raise awareness of breastfeeding and encourage its normalisation. This provides a possible mechanism of action to explain the results of the trial.
The trial is registered with the ISRCTN registry, number 44898617 , https://www.isrctn.com.
在英国低母乳喂养率地区进行的一项母乳喂养财政激励的整群随机对照试验报告称，6-8 周时母乳喂养率有统计学意义的增加。本文报告了对符合该计划条件的妇女进行的访谈分析，探讨了她们对该计划的经验和看法及其对母乳喂养的影响，以支持对试验结果的解释。
在可行性和试验阶段，对 35 名符合该计划条件的妇女进行了半结构化访谈。所有访谈均进行录音，并使用框架分析方法对逐字记录进行分析。
妇女报告说，她们对婴儿喂养的决定受到家庭和朋友的行为和信念、社会文化规范以及健康和实际考虑的影响。她们普遍对该计划持积极态度，并认为母乳喂养所付出的努力是有价值的。代金券经常被描述为一种奖励、一种额外收获和值得期待的东西，可以帮助妇女继续母乳喂养。它们经常被视为对妇女在母乳喂养中遇到的困难的补偿。该计划被认为对强烈反对母乳喂养的母亲没有影响。然而，妇女确实认为该计划将有助于使母乳喂养正常化，影响那些犹豫不决的人，并帮助妇女继续母乳喂养并达到关键里程碑，例如 6 周或 3 个月。
该计划得到了妇女的认可，她们认为这是对母乳喂养的一种奖励和重视。妇女报告说，该计划可以提高对母乳喂养的认识，并鼓励其正常化。这为解释试验结果提供了一种可能的作用机制。
该试验在 ISRCTN 注册，编号为 44898617，https://www.isrctn.com。
