The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #62126

Laura Duckett, PhD, MPH, RN, School of Nursing, University of Minnesota, 6101 Weaver-Densford Hall, 308 Harvard Street SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455, 612-636-8032, ducke001@umn.edu, Richard C. Lussky, MD, Department of Pediatrics, Division of Neonatology, Hennepin County Medical Center, 701 Park Avenue, Minneapolis, MN 55415-1829, and Joan E. Dodgson, PhD, MPH, RN, School of Nursing, Duke University, 811 9th Street, Suite 200, Durham, NC 27705.

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, mother's milk is the healthiest food for premature infants with rare exceptions. In premature infants, human milk has been shown to reduce infections and necrotizing enterocolitis, appears to be protective against sudden infant death syndrome, and promotes neurodevelopment. In addition, some mothers have reported that providing their own milk to their infant in the NICU created a special link with the infant. Data that illuminate the motivational factors that influence diverse, low-income mothers to initiate mother's milk feeding and to continue following initiation are scarce. Specific aims were to: (a) Assess the perceptions of mothers of premature infants in order to understand their motivations and patterns of premature infant feeding. (b) Use information from the maternal qualitative interviews to tailor Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB)-based quantitative instruments for use in a similar diverse population. (c) Determine the extent of use of mother's milk for NICU infants whose mothers participate in the ethnographic interviews. Mothers recruited for the sample had a premature infant in the NICU of a county hospital in a large Midwestern city. Mothers were English or Spanish speaking and were selected regardless of their plan to breast or bottle feed. Consenting mothers interviewed (N=22) included African Americans, Hispanics (Latinas), Whites (non-Hispanic), Africans, Asians, and American Indians. Ethnographic interviews were conducted in English or Spanish by a bilingual researcher, were audio-taped and transcribed verbatim. Transcripts in Spanish were translated into English for analysis. Atlas.ti, is being used for coding, categorizing and sorting the interview data. Quantitative demographic and infant feeding data are being analyzed using SPSS-PC for Windows. Qualitative results will be used to (a) gain understanding of sample mothers motivational schema relevant to mother's milk feeding and formula feeding, (b) determine their feeding patterns, and (b) revise the TPB-based quantitative instruments, previously developed by one of the investigators, so that they are suitable for use with diverse low-income mothers. Quantitative data will be used to describe incidence and duration of mother's milk feeding in this small sample and to guide planning of a larger quantitative study.

Learning Objectives:

• Describe the primary factors that influence women's choices to provide or not provide their own milk for their pre-term/LBW infants.
• Describe the incidence and extent of mother's milk feeding in the study sample.
• Discuss implications of study findings for clinical care and future research.

Keywords: Breastfeeding, Low Birthweight

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: Hennepin County Medical Center, Minneapolis
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.