Jane S. Grassley

Understanding maternal breastfeeding confidence: a Gadamerian hermeneutic analysis of women's stories.

Our aim in this Gadamerian hermeneutic study was to understand maternal breastfeeding confidence and its meaning through listening to womens voices describing their experiences within the context of the United States. We asked 13 women, aged 23 to 42 years, who had breastfed a child within the last 2 years to tell us their breastfeeding stories. Women experienced maternal breastfeeding confidence as a dynamic interaction between their expectations, their infant’s breastfeeding behavior, and sources of support. They described experiences that enhanced or diminished their confidence. Health professionals can use these findings to plan approaches that promote and support maternal breastfeeding confidence.

African American Women and Breastfeeding: An Integrative Literature Review

The purpose of this article is to present a review of literature regarding factors that influence breastfeeding intentions, initiation, and duration in the African American population. Research related to health disparities experienced by African Americans in the United States, as well as research regarding the protective benefits of breastfeeding for those specific health disparities, are also presented. Community and institutional interventions and promotional campaigns aimed at increasing initiation and duration of breastfeeding in the African American population are discussed. Future research regarding African American womens breastfeeding experiences using Black feminist thought as a theoretical foundation is recommended.

A Grandmothers' Tea: Evaluation of a Breastfeeding Support Intervention

This study’s purpose was to evaluate an intervention to facilitate grandmothers’ knowledge and support of breastfeeding. A pilot study with a quasi-experimental two-group posttest design was used to evaluate whether the intervention made a difference in grandmothers’ knowledge, attitudes, and intent to recommend breastfeeding. The 26 grandmothers in the intervention group attended A Grandmothers’ Tea program; the 23 grandmothers in the control group received written information. The intervention group had greater posttest knowledge scores than the control group but had no significant differences in attitudes or intent. However, a significant difference was evident between the attitude scores of grandmothers who breastfed their infants and of grandmothers who did not breastfeed their infants regardless of receiving the intervention.

Factors that influence pediatric intensive care unit nurses to leave their jobs.

The purpose of this qualitative study was to discover why 10 nurses voluntarily left the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) at 1 large pediatric hospital in the southwest. Critical theory provided the philosophical framework, whereas action research and Heideggerian hermeneutic phenomenology provided the methodological framework. Data analysis was conducted using the circular hermeneutic process described by Heidegger and explicated by Diekelmann. From the findings of this study, it was concluded that there is an inescapable and inevitable tension between the human factors and the PICU work environment. Nurses identified the constitutive pattern of unrelieved job stress as the major reason they left the PICU. The multidimensional and interactive environmental characteristics of nature of the job, insufficient resources, and negative perceptions of managers/team leaders contributed to the development of job stress. The results of this study revealed the evidence needed to begin to focus on interventions in the areas of nursing practice, education, and research required, reducing the likelihood of losing more PICU nurses.

Reasons for Initial Formula Supplementation of Healthy Breastfeeding Newborns

In a retrospective review of 302 hospital charts, 38 percent of newborns whose mothers planned to exclusively breastfeed received formula before hospital discharge. Those breastfeeding infants who did not receive formula were significantly younger at first breastfeeding than infants who received formula. Significantly more infants born by cesarean (51 percent) received supplementation than those born vaginally (31 percent). Birth between 9 p.m. and 10 a.m. and a hospital stay for more than 24 hours increased odds of supplementation. Nurses can explore barriers to exclusive breastfeeding unique to their hospitals to develop strategies that facilitate breastfeeding support and decrease formula supplementation.

The Value of Listening to Grandmothers' Infant-Feeding Stories

The purpose of this study was to examine the usefulness of storytelling as a foundation for communicating with grandmothers about breastfeeding. The benefits of storytelling are applied to an analysis of infant-feeding stories that grandmothers told during a focus group study conducted by the authors. Thirty-five grandmothers participated in the study. A qualitative content analysis of the interview transcripts revealed that grandmothers’ infant-feeding stories provided insights into the people (characters) and circumstances (setting) that affected their early experiences of infant feeding. By asking grandmothers to tell their stories, health-care professionals may understand the personal and cultural context grandmothers bring to their support of new mothers and facilitate a place for grandmothers’ voices to be heard.

Adolescents’ Needs for Nurses’ Support When Initiating Breastfeeding

Background: Increasing the number of infants who are breastfed has become a worldwide health priority because of the extensively documented health and economic benefits of breastfeeding for mothers and their children. It is unfortunate that adolescents initiate and continue breastfeeding at rates lower than adult women. Health care providers can improve these breastfeeding rates through the social support they offer adolescent mothers as they initiate breastfeeding. Objective: The purpose of this study was to explore the needs of adolescents for social support from nurses when initiating breastfeeding. Methods: Secondary qualitative content analysis of 90 adolescents’ responses to 2 open-ended questions was conducted using social support theory as a framework. The 2 researchers independently categorized each response as informational, instrumental, emotional, and/or appraisal social support. Results: Adolescent mothers wanted nurses to take the time to explain breastfeeding, answer their questions, and provide consistent information that supported their informational needs. Emotional needs were met as the nurse provided for the adolescents’ privacy, treated them with respect, and stayed calm. Nurses met adolescents’ appraisal support needs through praise and encouragement. Participants valued instrumental support that included being given opportunities to work out breastfeeding under a nurse’s guidance. Conclusion: Adolescents needed a combination of informational, instrumental, emotional, and appraisal support. Adolescent mothers appreciate and value nurses who take the time to dialogue with them about breastfeeding.

Implementing Skin‐to‐Skin Contact in the Operating Room Following Cesarean Birth

Immediate skin-to-skin contact (SSC) after birth benefits the health of mothers and newborns by increasing breastfeeding rates, stabilizing the newborns temperature, and encouraging bonding (Moore, Anderson, Bergman, & Dowswell, 2012). Although immediate SSC after a vaginal birth was common practice at our hospital, it was rare in the operating room (OR) following a cesarean birth. To address this practice problem, we conducted a project to evaluate the feasibility of implementing SSC in the OR.

A Smoking Cessation Website for Childbearing Adolescents

Smoking during pregnancy or near an infant has potential health risks. Therefore, quality smoking cessation strategies for childbearing adolescents are essential in preventing and ending smoking habits. The S.M.A.S.H Out Cigarettes Website (http://www.smashoutcigarettes.org) combines evidence-based practices from traditional and Web-based smoking cessation programs in an easily accessible tool that offers an alternative approach to smoking cessation specifically designed for childbearing adolescents.

Breast Reduction Surgery: What Every Woman Needs to Know

The decision to have breast reduction surgery is complex. Women with large breasts experience physical and psychosocial pain that can be reduced through having breast reduction surgery. And in addition to potential surgical risks, breast reduction surgery has other risks, such as the potential to affect a womans ability to breastfeed children in the future. Heres how to help counsel women considering breast reduction surgery, particularly regarding the physical and psychological pain of living with large breasts and the options related to the benefits, costs and risks of this surgery.