Antenatal hand expression of breastmilk and mothers’ self-efficacy with breastfeeding
- Publication Type:
- Thesis
- Issue Date:
- 2021
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The aim of this research is to explore the maternal experiences of antenatal hand expression (AHE) and its effect on the development of maternal breastfeeding self-efficacy and breastfeeding practices in the postpartum period.
๐๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ด๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ป๐ฑ
AHE and breastmilk storage is potentially advantageous for all women who wish to breastfeed their infants. Until recently, only women with a high risk of developing breastfeeding problems were advised to perform AHE. Whether AHE benefits all women, including those without the high risk, needs to be researched further. Some studies indicated that AHE reduces womanโs stress response to breastmilk production in the immediate postpartum period and improves breastfeeding 'confidence' or breastfeeding 'self-efficacy'. However, few studies have confirmed this.
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A cross-sectional web-based survey with quantitative and qualitative questions was used to collect data. The survey questions explored maternal experiences of how AHE affects maternal breastfeeding self-efficacy and breastfeeding outcomes. Participants were recruited via social media sites, including Facebook and a parenting website.
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The quantitative findings demonstrated that there was no significant correlation between AHE and maternal breastfeeding self-efficacy or breastfeeding outcomes. However, women who expressed breastmilk and stored it antenatally were more likely to have higher maternal breastfeeding self-efficacy compared with those who expressed breastmilk but did not store it antenatally. The qualitative findings highlighted that AHE can be a strategy to develop maternal breastfeeding self-efficacy. Of note, within the qualitative findings the women identified numerous issues regarding AHE education or support and contemporary breastfeeding education that require improvement. The issues were as follows:
โข Adequate information regarding AHE was not provided during antenatal breastfeeding education programs.
โข Individualised one-on-one support for women was not regularly provided.
โข Midwives or other health professionals provided inconsistent or conflicting breastfeeding advice.
โข The quality, level and content of contemporary breastfeeding education classes varied among hospitals.
๐๐ผ๐ป๐ฐ๐น๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป
Learning to express breastmilk during the antenatal period is a useful skill to help women gain confidence and competence during pregnancy. Developing this skill during the antenatal period will benefit maternal self-efficacy and her ability to breastfeed her infant. This study highlighted issues regarding AHE support and contemporary breastfeeding education and made four main recommendations to resolve them:
including AHE information in antenatal breastfeeding education as a compulsory measure:
improving individualised one-one-on support.
improving staff education regarding providing breastfeeding support.
improving the quality of and access to antenatal breastfeeding education classes.
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