Health Psychology Section, Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, Guy's Hospital, King's College London, London, UK.
Clinical Trials in Maternal Health, Warwick Clinical Trials Unit, Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK.
Psychol Health. 2023 Feb;38(2):167-189. doi: 10.1080/08870446.2021.1956495. Epub 2021 Sep 9.
Grounded Theory has previously been used to explore breastfeeding practices amongst average birthweight infants and these working hypotheses can be 'tested' in new contexts. A pre-existing Grounded Theory was applied to the context of women who gave birth to larger birthweight infants (≥4,000 g) to understand whether perceptions and practices of infant feeding were distinct.
A nested qualitative study analysed data from N = 10 women with a larger birthweight infant (≥4,000 g). Face-to-face, semi-structured interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Grounded Theory methodology was used to analyse data.
A pre-existing Grounded Theory of breastfeeding experiences derived from women with average birthweight infants did not hold true among women with larger birthweight infants. An alternative Grounded Theory was therefore proposed comprised of three discrete themes: Infant Ability to Breastfeed; Attenuating Maternal Concerns; and Reality of Breastfeeding.
Larger infant birthweight is potentially a protective factor against breastfeeding latch and lactation difficulties. It is associated with alleviating maternal concerns, helping to reduce disparities between expectations of breastfeeding and reality, but does not alleviate the demands breastfeeding places on women. Healthcare professionals help to attenuate women's concerns, however the support needs for women with larger birthweight infants may not differ from existing care recommendations.
扎根理论此前曾被用于探索平均出生体重婴儿的母乳喂养实践，这些工作假设可以在新的背景下进行“检验”。将现有的扎根理论应用于出生体重较大（≥4000g）的婴儿的妇女的背景下，以了解婴儿喂养的感知和实践是否存在差异。
一项嵌套式定性研究分析了 10 名出生体重较大（≥4000g）婴儿的妇女的数据。采用面对面、半结构式访谈进行录音，并逐字转录。使用扎根理论方法分析数据。
源于平均出生体重婴儿妇女的母乳喂养经验的现有扎根理论在出生体重较大的婴儿妇女中并不适用。因此，提出了一个替代的扎根理论，由三个离散的主题组成：婴儿母乳喂养的能力；减轻母亲的担忧；母乳喂养的现实。
较大的婴儿出生体重可能是母乳喂养衔接和哺乳困难的保护因素。它与减轻母亲的担忧有关，有助于减少母乳喂养期望与现实之间的差距，但并不能减轻母乳喂养对妇女的要求。医疗保健专业人员有助于减轻妇女的担忧，但对于出生体重较大的婴儿的妇女的支持需求可能与现有护理建议没有不同。
