Lauren Sponseller, PhD, OTD, MSOTR/L, MEd, is Chair and Associate Professor, Department of Occupational Therapy, Salus University, Elkins Park, PA;
Fern Silverman, EdD, OTR/L, is Associate Professor, Department of Occupational Therapy, Salus University, Elkins Park, PA.
Am J Occup Ther. 2021 Sep 1;75(5). doi: 10.5014/ajot.2021.041269.
Occupational therapy practitioners can play a pivotal role in supporting breastfeeding mothers as they transition to and form new routines for this occupation.
To explore whether occupational therapy programming can assist breastfeeding mothers in reaching their personal occupation-based wellness goals.
Mixed-methods design that involved development of an occupational profile and a goal attainment scale (GAS). After the intervention, participants rescored their GAS goals and completed a semistructured exit interview.
Nonprofit lactation center located in the suburbs of a large mid-Atlantic U.S. city.
Women recruited through convenience sampling who had been breastfeeding an infant for <6 mo, who were not currently weaning, and who had met with a lactation consultant at least once since giving birth were eligible (N = 17).
Group occupational therapy that consisted of 10 weekly 1-hr sessions. Topics were based on occupational profiles, GAS scores, and lactation consultant input. Outcomes and Measures: Each participant created and scored three goals using the GAS before and after the intervention.
Data from 14 of the 17 participants were analyzed. The average postintervention GAS score was 56.50 (M = 50), indicating that most personal wellness goals were reached. Thematic analysis revealed that occupational therapy programming helped mothers persevere with breastfeeding, feel more confident as new parents, and value both themselves and their baby.
There is an increasing role for occupational therapy practitioners in helping new mothers reach their personal wellness goals in ways that support their ability to continue breastfeeding. What This Article Adds: Maternal wellness and breastfeeding represent an emerging area of practice in which occupational therapy practitioners can provide new mothers with physical, social, and psychological supports that help them maintain self-efficacy related to breastfeeding and other meaningful occupations. This study provides foundational evidence in support of this collaboration.
职业治疗师可以在母乳喂养母亲过渡到并为这一职业形成新习惯时发挥关键作用。
探讨职业治疗方案是否可以帮助母乳喂养母亲实现个人以职业为基础的健康目标。
混合方法设计，包括职业概况和目标达成量表（GAS）的制定。干预后，参与者重新评估他们的 GAS 目标，并完成半结构化的退出访谈。
位于美国大西洋中部一个大城市郊区的非营利性哺乳中心。
通过便利抽样招募的女性，她们在分娩后至少见过一次哺乳顾问，并且已经母乳喂养婴儿 <6 个月，目前没有断奶，并且已经母乳喂养婴儿 <6 个月。
团体职业治疗，包括 10 次每周 1 小时的课程。主题基于职业概况、GAS 评分和哺乳顾问的意见。
干预前后，每位参与者使用 GAS 创建并评分三个目标。
对 17 名参与者中的 14 名进行了数据分析。干预后的平均 GAS 评分为 56.50（M=50），表明大多数个人健康目标都已实现。主题分析表明，职业治疗方案帮助母亲坚持母乳喂养，对新父母更有信心，并重视自己和婴儿。
职业治疗师在帮助新母亲实现个人健康目标方面发挥着越来越重要的作用，这些目标支持她们继续母乳喂养的能力。这篇文章增加了什么：母亲的健康和母乳喂养是实践中的一个新兴领域，职业治疗师可以为新母亲提供身体、社会和心理支持，帮助她们保持与母乳喂养和其他有意义的职业相关的自我效能感。本研究为这一合作提供了基础证据。
