Shipton Emma V, Foxcroft Katie, de Jersey Susan J, Callaway Leonie, Lee Nigel
University of Queensland Centre for Clinical Research, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia; Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, Metro North Hospital and Health Service, Brisbane, Australia.
School of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work, The University of Queensland, Whitty Building, Mater Hospital Campus, South Brisbane, Australia.
Women Birth. 2025 Jan;38(1):101859. doi: 10.1016/j.wombi.2024.101859. Epub 2025 Jan 2.
Despite breastfeeding being widely accepted as the optimal feeding method for infants many women do not meet their breastfeeding goals or continue to breastfeed as long as recommended. Continuation of exclusive breastfeeding is multifactorial, with midwifery support during the postnatal period considered to be an important component. However, little is known about how women receive this support from midwives across varying models of care.
To explore women's experiences of midwifery education and support with postnatal infant feeding in the context of midwifery models of care.
Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 14 postnatal women, using an interpretive descriptive approach. Data were analysed through reflective thematic analysis to identify themes.
Two themes each with three subthemes were identified: (1) How midwifery breastfeeding support was provided, and (2) Expectations and realities of breastfeeding.
Experiences of breastfeeding support and education by midwives were often reported as being superficial and at times, simplistic. Midwives offered breastfeeding guidance that focused on technical aspects of latching, which allowed for brief episodes of care before moving onto other tasks. Women described surprise at the realities of breastfeeding a baby, and the understanding that it involves more than simply providing nutrition.
Midwifery education and support of breastfeeding should be prioritised as an important component of care, and personalised to the woman's requirements. Specifically, it is important to provide education beyond a focus on the health benefits of breastfeeding, which may allow midwives to promote other aspects, such as positive emotional and bonding experiences.
尽管母乳喂养被广泛认为是婴儿的最佳喂养方式，但许多女性并未实现她们的母乳喂养目标，也没有按照建议的时长持续进行母乳喂养。纯母乳喂养的持续受多种因素影响，产后阶段的助产士支持被视为一个重要因素。然而，对于女性如何在不同护理模式下从助产士那里获得这种支持，我们知之甚少。
在助产护理模式的背景下，探讨女性在产后婴儿喂养方面接受助产士教育和支持的经历。
采用解释性描述方法，对14名产后女性进行了半结构化访谈。通过反思性主题分析对数据进行分析以确定主题。
确定了两个主题，每个主题有三个子主题：（1）助产士如何提供母乳喂养支持，以及（2）母乳喂养的期望与现实。
助产士提供的母乳喂养支持和教育经历通常被报告为表面的，有时甚至是简单化的。助产士提供的母乳喂养指导侧重于 latch 的技术方面，这使得在转向其他任务之前可以进行短暂的护理。女性描述了对母乳喂养婴儿现实情况的惊讶，以及认识到母乳喂养不仅仅是提供营养。
应将助产士对母乳喂养的教育和支持作为护理的重要组成部分予以优先考虑，并根据女性的需求进行个性化定制。具体而言，重要的是提供超越关注母乳喂养健康益处的教育，这可能使助产士能够促进其他方面，例如积极的情感和亲密关系体验。
