Prenatal Breastfeeding Intervention Program to Increase Breastfeeding Duration Among Low-Income Women

Abstract

Extensive research confirms the nutritional, economic, biomedical, immunological, and psychological advantages of breast milk. Despite the clear benefits of breastfeeding to mother and infant, breastfeeding rates today continue to remain below the recommended levels in the United States, most notably among low-income mothers. One factor that plays a role in breastfeeding success and may be modifiable by nursing intervention is maternal self-efficacy. This study aimed to increase the breastfeeding duration through an intervention based on Dennis’s Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy Theory. A quasi-Experimental design was used to test the effect of the intervention program on duration of breastfeeding. A convenience sample of 37 low-income women was recruited from two rural prenatal clinics in the Midwest. Data were collected using the Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy Scale (BSES) and a demographic profile. Women were contacted by telephone at two and six weeks post-partum to determine if they were still breastfeeding and to complete the BSES. The women who were assigned to a breastfeeding self-efficacy intervention showed significantly greater increases in breastfeeding duration and self-efficacy than did the women in the control group. The results of this study suggest that the one-hour of breastfeeding intervention program during the prenatal period may increase the duration of breastfeeding in low-income women who intend to breastfeed. This study supports the literature which found that prenatal education and postpartum support are important to the outcome of breastfeeding.