Hírolvasó

Journal of Human Lactation, Ahead of Print.
Cultural Domain Analysis (CDA) is a theoretical and methodological approach rooted in cognitive anthropology that investigates how people in a particular culture organize, structure, and perceive ideas. Beginning in the 1960s, CDA developed into a powerful tool for collecting and analyzing data, with applications extending beyond anthropology into other fields, including public health and other social sciences. This paper outlines the procedures and methods used in CDA, its strengths and limitations, and its potential utility in breastfeeding studies. Basic features of key techniques within CDA that include free listing, pile sorting, and cultural consensus analysis are discussed. The paper also highlights how CDA seamlessly combines qualitative and quantitative data to generate culturally meaningful social theories that can inform the development of contextually relevant policies and interventions.

Journal of Human Lactation, Ahead of Print.

Journal of Human Lactation, Ahead of Print.
Background:Organizational-level interventions (i.e., Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative) that support breastfeeding and target breastfeeding initiation are critical to reducing breastfeeding disparities and promoting breastfeeding equity.Research Aim:To determine the association between delivery in a Baby-Friendly accredited hospital and breastfeeding initiation among United States recipients of the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) in Washington DC, the majority of whom report their race as Black.Method:We conducted a secondary analysis of de-identified program data collected as part of routine WIC visits from the Washington DC WIC program, 2017–2020. Women who delivered a firstborn, singleton infant were included (N = 8,225). Multivariable logistic regression models accounted for social determinants of health and other factors. One set of models included a binary exposure variable (Baby-Friendly accredited vs. non-accredited hospitals), and another set included a categorical exposure variable for hospitals (1) Baby-Friendly accredited, (2) Baby-Friendly activities but not accredited, and (3) neither Baby-Friendly activities nor accredited.Results:Breastfeeding initiation was 57.4% (n = 1988) for women delivering in accredited hospitals versus 55.4% (n = 2540) in non-accredited hospitals and multivariable model results were non-significant (OR = 0.95, 95% CI [0.86, 1.05]). However, more women initiated breastfeeding who delivered in either accredited hospitals (57.4%, n = 1988) or hospitals with Baby-Friendly activities but not accredited (55.9%, n = 2430) compared to those delivering in hospitals with neither (45.3%, n = 110), and multivariable models results concurred (Baby-Friendly accredited hospitals OR = 1.44, 95% CI [1.07, 1.94]; Baby-Friendly activities but not accredited, (OR = 1.55, 95% CI [1.16, 2.09]).Conclusion:Organizational-level interventions that create hospital environments supportive of breastfeeding initiation are important to promote equity in breastfeeding, but underlying social determinants of breastfeeding outcomes must be addressed.

Journal of Human Lactation, Ahead of Print.

The COVID-19 pandemic contact restrictions considerably changed maternal visiting contacts during the time in which breastfeeding is initiated. We wanted to know how maternity ward staff and mothers rated the ...

Journal of Human Lactation, Ahead of Print.

Journal of Human Lactation, Ahead of Print.
Background:Breastfeeding is crucial in providing infants with needed nutrition and immunity to foster their healthy growth and development; yet, optimal support from health workers is critical for it to be successful.Aim:To determine factors influencing tangible breastfeeding support among health workers in Nigeria.Methods:This cross-sectional study was conducted in Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones between August 2022 and February 2023 among health workers (N = 2,922). Data were gathered through an interviewer-administered, validated questionnaire. Significant factors of tangible breastfeeding support were identified through multivariable logistic regression, and corresponding odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals were reported.Results:The mean age of the health workers was 28.6 (SD = 9.3) years. Just 45% (1,316) achieved optimal scores for tangible breastfeeding support. Only 31.4% (918) of lactation support providers/specialists practice tangible breastfeeding support and half (50.6%, 1,479) had a favorable attitude towards providing tangible breastfeeding support. About two-fifths (39.3%, 1,148) engaged caregivers in reviewing breast milk storage procedures, whereas, 54.6% (1,595) and 78.0% (2,279) of health workers assisted with breast pumps and breastfeeding attachment respectively. The odds of having optimal tangible breastfeeding support were higher for health workers aged 52 years or older compared to those aged under 20 years (aOR 1.88, 95% CI [1.13, 3.12]), a positive attitude (aOR 1.43, 95% CI [1.22, 1.69]), availability of a breastfeeding champion (aOR 1.47, 95% CI [1.21, 1.79]), 1.69]), provision of breast-pump videos (aOR; 2.33, 95% CI [1.85, 2.95]), and hand-expression videos (aOR; 1.41, 95% CI [1.02, 1.79]). (duplication)Conclusion:Health workers’ tangible breastfeeding support in Nigeria is suboptimal and is driven by age, service level, attitude, availability of breastfeeding champions, and appropriate practice aids. Targeted interventions to improve health workers’ attitudes, technical skills, provision of aids, and task shifting to non-specialists are needed for optimal tangible breastfeeding support.

Journal of Human Lactation, Ahead of Print.
Background:While the basic needs of breastfeeding women are similar to those of the general population, there are some specificities that must be taken into account when responding to an emergency.Aim:This study examines the breastfeeding barriers faced during a large earthquake in Türkiye and aims to investigate how infant feeding practices of breastfeeding mothers staying in temporary shelters after the earthquake were affected.Methods:This study follows a qualitative descriptive design with an inductive approach. It included participants who were older than 18 years of age, had babies no older than 1 year, and were breastfeeding mothers when the earthquake struck.Results:Five main themes were identified through a content analysis of the interviews: (1) breastfeeding environment after the earthquake, (2) emotional impact, (3) change in social relationships, (4) physiological needs and problems, (5) specialized maternal and baby health services. Factors affecting mothers’ infant feeding practices were crowded breastfeeding environments, stress and fear caused by the earthquake, decreased breastfeeding support due to changes in social relationships, difficulty in reaching basic physiological needs, and lack of professional health workers in the earthquake region.Conclusion:The most important factor affecting breastfeeding was the lack of suitable environments in which to breastfeed. There should be local, regional, and federal policies to support the privacy needs of displaced breastfeeding mothers.

Despite the many benefits of exclusive breastfeeding to infants and mothers, only 33% of Jamaican infants are exclusively breastfed up to the recommend six months. This study was conducted to identify factors ...

Journal of Human Lactation, Ahead of Print.
Photo elicitation is a qualitative data collection technique in which the researcher includes photographs or other visual images as part of participant interviews. The researcher might provide the photographs or might ask the participants to bring photographs to the interview. This technique enhances the breadth and depth of verbal qualitative interviews. The use of photo elicitation can enhance the rigor of a qualitative study. There are both advantages and disadvantages of this data collection technique. Ethical issues warrant special consideration.

On 6 February 2023, an Mw 7.8 earthquake struck southern and central Türkiye and north-western Syria, affecting the lives of 4.6 and 2.5 million children, respectively. In such crises, infants who are dependen...

Journal of Human Lactation, Ahead of Print.
Climate change is an urgent threat to perinatal and infant health, with the greatest effects of climate change exposures being felt disproportionately by global majority communities who have been most harmed by systems of oppression. Human milk feeding is one recognized solution to bolster climate resilience. Yet, policies and practices to support human milk as a climate solution are inconsistent and under-prioritized, which is unsurprising given the lack of alignment between human history and current cultural context with regard to lactation and human milk access. This paper presents a new framework on lactation as a climate solution, which is unique in its incorporation of the critical history of cooperative breastfeeding in our species. Rooted in anthropogeny, or the study of human origins, and antiracist principles of lactation, the Allomilk Framework highlights five concepts of the ideal application of human milk as a climate solution, bridging ancient allonursing with present-day lactation and human milk access. These ideal applications—and the proposed development of measures to operationalize them—will advance the field through a shared understanding of the qualities that should be prioritized in the assessment of policies and practices at the intersection of climate resilience and human milk access. Application of the Allomilk Framework to assess and design future policies and practices will advance the field by increasing the potential for climate resilience and climate mitigation while working with—rather than against—the importance of cooperative breastfeeding in human history.

Mother’s milk provides optimal nutrition for infants. Donor human milk (DHM) is recommended for low birthweight infants when mother’s milk is unavailable. Little is known about human milk (HM) donation practic...

Infants requiring neonatal care often face initial breastfeeding challenges, leading them to receive expressed breast milk from their mother or donor milk. While emphasizing the mother’s own milk as the gold s...

Journal of Human Lactation, Ahead of Print.

Breastfeeding has many benefits for mothers and infants. Lactogenesis II is one of the key steps in the implementation of breastfeeding. If lactogenesis II occurs more than 72 h after delivery, it is termed de...

Public health initiatives (e.g., the Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative) have led to an increase in breastfeeding rates worldwide. However, as (exclusive) breastfeeding duration is still below WHO recommendatio...

This paper outlines a pilot of a new memory aide for breastfeeding conducted in the Northeast of England and North Cumbria between April and August 2023. The United Kingdom has some of the lowest rates of brea...

Breastfeeding is widely recognized for its potential to reduce childhood obesity. However, research investigating these benefits in children breastfed for a short duration (up to 6 months) remains limited desp...

Human milk banks are essential facilities to provide donated human milk (DHM) to preterm and term infants with health complications. Little is known regarding milk bank donors and how their characteristics may...