414742331 Department of Maternal and Child Health, Carolina Global Breastfeeding Institute, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA.
REACHUP, Inc, Tampa, FL, USA.
J Hum Lact. 2021 May;37(2):279-288. doi: 10.1177/0890334421995078. Epub 2021 Feb 25.
Breast/Chestfeeding remains a public health issue for African Americans, and increased rates would mitigate many health disparities, thus promoting health equity.
To explore the interplay of generational familial roles and meaning (or value) ascribed to communicating infant feeding information across three generations.
This prospective, cross-sectional qualitative study used an asset-driven approach and was guided by Black Feminist Thought and Symbolic Interactionism. African American women ( = 35; 15 family triads/dyads), residing in the southeastern United States were interviewed. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis.
The older two generations described their role using assertive yet nurturing terms, while the younger generation carefully discussed the flexibility between their familial roles. Emergent themes described the meaning each generation attributed to communicating infant feeding information: "My Responsibility," "Comforting," "Bonding Experience," "She Cared," and "Gained Wisdom."
Our findings have potential to contribute to achieving health equity in African American families. Future breast/chestfeeding promotion efforts may benefit from reframing the current approach to including protection language and not solely support language. Lactation professionals should further recognize and support strengths and resource-richness of intergenerational infant feeding communication within African American families using strength-based, empowerment-oriented, and ethnically sensitive approaches.
母乳喂养对于非裔美国人来说仍然是一个公共卫生问题，增加母乳喂养率可以减轻许多健康差距，从而促进健康公平。
探索代际家庭角色和信息沟通意义（或价值）在三代人之间的相互作用。
本前瞻性、横断面定性研究采用资产驱动方法，并以黑人文艺复兴思想和符号互动论为指导。研究对象为居住在美国东南部的 35 名非裔美国女性（15 个家庭三人组/二人组），并对其进行了访谈。采用主题分析法对数据进行分析。
较年长的两代人用自信而又体贴的术语描述了自己的角色，而年轻一代则仔细讨论了他们的家庭角色之间的灵活性。出现的主题描述了每一代人赋予沟通婴儿喂养信息的意义：“我的责任”、“安慰”、“建立亲密关系的体验”、“她关心”和“获得智慧”。
我们的研究结果有可能为非裔美国家庭实现健康公平做出贡献。未来的母乳喂养促进工作可能需要重新调整当前的方法，包括保护语言，而不仅仅是支持语言。哺乳专业人员应进一步认识到并支持非裔美国家庭中代际婴儿喂养沟通的优势和资源丰富性，采用基于优势、赋权导向和种族敏感的方法。
