Abstract
Black women (women of African descent) have the lowest rate and duration of breastfeeding compared to other racial groups. Breastfeeding self-efficacy, defined as a mother's belief that she will be able to organize and carry out the actions necessary to breastfeeding her infant, has been shown to predict breastfeeding pattern and duration, but has not been studied in black women. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between breastfeeding self-efficacy and duration and pattern of breastfeeding. Black women (N = 155) with full-term infants who were planning to breastfeed were recruited from a large urban teaching hospital in New England. Breastfeeding self-efficacy was measured using the Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy Scale-Short Form (BSES-SF) (Dennis, 2003). Self-efficacy and demographic data were collected during the first postpartum week by written questionnaire. At one month postpartum, 143 women completed the follow-up interview. At this time, breastfeeding pattern and duration data were collected by telephone interview. Higher BSES-SF scores were predictive of longer breastfeeding duration (p = .04) and more exclusive breastfeeding pattern (p < .01) in this sample, consistent with prior research with other samples. Planned pattern of feeding (exclusive or in combination with formula) was also predictive of the actual pattern of feeding (p < .01). Variables predictive of breastfeeding self-efficacy included previous breastfeeding experience, planned exclusive breastfeeding, education, ethnicity and level of network support for breastfeeding. Based on self-efficacy theory, interventions designed to enhance breastfeeding self-efficacy will help improve breastfeeding outcomes. Further research with larger samples is needed to understand if there are significant differences in self-efficacy among ethnic groups. Research designed to determine if self-efficacy mediates the influence of demographic variables on breastfeeding outcomes is also needed.
Sigma Membership
Alpha Chi, Epsilon Tau at-Large
Type
Dissertation
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
Quasi-Experimental Study, Other
Research Approach
Quantitative Research
Keywords:
Infant Care, Maternal Self-belief, Feeding Infants
Advisor
Susan M. Reece
Degree
PhD
Degree Grantor
University of Massachusetts Lowell
Degree Year
2007
Recommended Citation
McCarter, Deborah Elaine, "Breastfeeding self-efficacy in women of African descent" (2019). Dissertations. 47.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/dissertations/47
Rights Holder
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All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository.
All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.
Review Type
None: Degree-based Submission
Acquisition
Proxy-submission
Date of Issue
2019-09-18
Full Text of Presentation
wf_yes
Description
This dissertation has also been disseminated through the ProQuest Dissertations and Theses database. Dissertation/thesis number: 3252755; ProQuest document ID: 304848379. The author still retains copyright.