Page 61 - Encyclopedia of Nursing Research

28 n BreASTFeeDING

Pasker-de Jong, van Wouwe, & de Groot, 2008; of self-efficacy, and the social-ecological
cricco-lizza, 2006; Gill, 2009; kelly, Watt, & frameworks. Nurses have conducted many
B Nazroo, 2006; Mccarter-Spaulding & Gore, meta-analyses of both quantitative and qual-
2009; racine, Frick, Guthrie, & Strobino, 2009; itative research in the area of breastfeeding.
ryan & Zhou, 2006). researchers have demonstrated the impor-
Nurses need updated education on the tance of peer and social support, the effect
basis of research to provide support to breast- of hospital interventions, the need for com-
feeding mothers at critical times (Dennis & prehensive breastfeeding education and sup-
kingston, 2008; Hannula et al., 2008; port, the communication-related barriers, the
Johnson, Mulder, & Strube, 2007; kearvell & socioeconomic issues, the effect of values and
Grant, 2010; McInnes & chambers, 2008; practice, and most importantly the culturally
Nelson, 2007; rêgo et al., 2009) and to iden- relevant issues that influence infant-feeding
tify women at risk for complications early choices.
on, for example, obesity as a risk factor in clinical issues being explored by nurse
the mother or infant admission to the neona- scientists include the following: biological
tal intensive care unit (Amir & Donath, 2007; benefits of breastfeeding to the mother and
cohen et al., 2009; cricco-lizza, 2009; Jevitt, infant, HIv and breastfeeding, lactation mas-
Hernandez, & Groër, 2007), so that interven- titis, breastfeeding in special circumstances,
tions can be initiated and referrals made in and positioning and attachment. The influ-
a timely fashion to preserve the breastfeed- ence of the health care delivery system,
ing relationship. Nurses need to be aware community, and society/culture cannot be
of new developments on breastfeeding in ignored.
areas such as breast reduction/augmenta- challenges related to the study of breast-
tion surgery (chamblin, 2006; Hurst, 2003; feeding include three major areas: the lack of
Souto, Giugliani, Giugliani, & Schneider, consistency in the definition of breastfeed-
2003), HIv status (Jackson, Goga, Doherty, ing (e.g., exclusivity) making comparison of
& chopra, 2009; kuhn, reitz, & Abrams, studies tedious if not impossible; the diffi-
2009), and drugs (Fortinguerra, clavenna, & culty measuring cross-cultural effects (lack
Bonati, 2009; Howland, 2009). careful assess- of reliability and validity studies of major
ment of the benefits and risks of not breast- breastfeeding instruments with various cul-
feeding should be in the forefront of nursing tures); and the development of prospective
research. In addition, new growth charts designs and randomized controlled trials.
provide more accurate data on breastfeeding We have made strides with meta-analyses,
infants’ expected growth patterns, and clini- more theory-focused research, and better
cians have new resources in planning their effort at defining breastfeeding and separat-
care (vesel et al., 2010). ing out the effects of exclusivity.
Nurse scientists continue to use different Although breastfeeding is now recog-
methodologies to study breastfeeding and nized as a right of mothers, a health care
to identify some of the reasons for discrep- behavior contributing to the reduction of
ancies in initiation, duration, and support, infant and maternal morbidity and mortal-
including ethnographies, phenomenological ity rates, less expensive than artificial milk
studies, historical-cultural approaches, and supplementation and more environmentally
ecological perspectives. Theoretical frame- friendly, the national breastfeeding goals
works used to explore the health behav- are far from being met. Federal funding for
ior of breastfeeding include the theory of breastfeeding research in the United States
planned behavior, the health belief model, continues to demonstrate an incongruity
the social cognitive theory using the concept with the national priorities for breastfeeding.