Women's Breastfeeding Learning Experiences

Authors

  • Tanya Brann-Barrett Cape Breton University

Abstract

Breastfeeding is valuable sustenance labour performed in society. The intent of this study was to learn about the strategies a group of women who live in Eastern Nova Scotia used to inform themselves about breastfeeding as an infant feeding choice, and how these strategies impacted on their individual perceptions of their breastfeeding success. Two qualitative focus groups were conducted and results were organized around themes and presented in the women's own words. They suggest the women's breastfeeding learning began with their decisions to breastfeed continued throughout their practical breastfeeding experiences, and went on past weaning in the form of self-reflections. The women stated, among other tools, mentors, literature, and particularly, their own practical experiences influenced their success. This study may be a first step towards other breastfeeding learning research studies that explore the lived experiences of women and in turn draws attention to the importance of the learning and working that occurs in their daily lives.

Résumé

L'allaitement maternel revêt une grande importance dans notre société. L'objectif de cette étude était de voir les stratégies utilisées par un groupe de femmes de l'Est de la Nouvelle-Écosse pour se renseigner sur l'allaitement maternel comme méthode d'alimentation des nourrissons et l'impact de ces stratégies sur les perceptions de ces femmes par rapport à leur succès. Deux entrevues de groupe out été menées; les résultats ont été regroupés par thèmes et reprenaient textuellement les mots des participantes. Ces résultats démontrent que les connaissances des participantes sur l'allaitement maternel se sont développées en trois temps : d'abord quand elles ont pris la décision d'allaiter; ensuite à travers leur propre expérience d'allaitement et, une fois le sevrage de leur enfant terminé, à la relecture de ce qu'elles ont vécu. Parmi les moyens ayant favorisé la réussite de leur expérience, elles ont mentionne l'accompagnement, les écrits sur le sujet et surtout leur propre expérience d'allaitement. Cette étude pent être une amorce à d'autres recherches qui attirent l'attention sur l'importance d'apprendre à allaiter et les efforts consentis au quotidien.

Downloads

Published

2004-05-01

How to Cite

Brann-Barrett, T. (2004). Women’s Breastfeeding Learning Experiences. Canadian Journal for the Study of Adult Education, 18(1), 52–71. Retrieved from https://cjsae.library.dal.ca/index.php/cjsae/article/view/1846

Issue

Vol. 18 No. 1 (2004)

Section

Articles

License

Authors of manuscripts accepted for publication will be required to assign copyright to the Canadian Journal for the Study of Adult Education/L’Association canadienne pour l’étude de l’éducation des adultes (CJSAE). CJSAE requests that, as the creator(s)/author(s) of the manuscript your are submitting assign certain rights to the manuscript to the CJSAE in exchange for undertaking to publish the article in print and electronic form and, in general, to pursue its dissemination throughout the world. The rights the CJSAE requests are:

  1. The right to publish the article in print and electronic form or in any other form it may choose that is in keeping with its role as a scholarly journal with the goal of disseminating the work as widely as possible;
  2. The right to be the sole publisher of the article for a period of 12 months;
  3. The right to make the article available to the public within a period of not more than 24 months, as determined by relevant journal staff of the CJSAE;
  4. The right to grant republication rights to itself or others in print, electronic, or any other form, with any revenues accrued to be shared equally between the author(s) and the journal;
  5. The right to administer permission to use portions of the article as requested by others, seeking recompense when the CJSAE sees it as warrented;
  6. The right to seek or take advantage of opportunities to have the article included in a database aimed at increasing awareness of it;
  7. As the author(s), the CJSAE wishes you to retain the right to republish the article, with acknowledgement of the CJSAE as the original publisher, in whole or in part, in any other pbulication of your own, including any anthology that you might edit with up to three others;
  8. As the author(s), the CJSAE withes you to retain the right to place the article on your personal Web page or that of your university or institution. The CJSAE askes that you include this notice: A fully edited, peer-reviewed version of this article was first published by the Canadian Journal for the Study of Adult Education, <Year>, <Volume>, <Issue>, <Page Numbers>.

BY AGREEING TO THE FOREGOING, YOU CONFIRM THAT THE MANUSCRIPT YOU ARE SUBMITTING HAS NOT BEEN PUBLISHED ELSEWHERE IN WHOLE OR IN PART, AND THAT NO AGREEMENT TO PUBLISH IS OUTSTANDING.

SHOULD THE ARTICLE CONTAIN MATERIAL WHICH REQUIRES WRITTEN PERMISSION FOR INCLUSION, YOU AGREE THAT IT IS YOUR OBLIGATION IN LAW TO IDENTIFY SUCH MATERIAL TO THE EDITOR OF THE CJSAE AND TO OBTAIN SUCH PERMISSION. THE CJSAE WILL NOT PAY ANY PERMISSION FEES. SHOULD THE CJSAE BE OF THE OPINION THAT SUCH PERMISSION IS NECESSARY, IT WILL REQUIRE YOU TO PURSUE SHUCH PERMISSSION PRIOR TO PUBLICATION.

AS AUTHOR(S), YOU WARRANT THAT THE ARTICLE BEING SUBMITTED IS ORIGINAL TO YOU.

Provided the foregoing terms are satisfactory, and that you are in agreement with them, please indicate your acceptance by checking the appropriate box and proceed with your submission.

This copyright agreement was extracted with permission from the "Best practices guide to scholarly journal publishing" (2007), produced by the Canadian Association of Learned Journals (CALJ).