Elsevier

JOGN Nursing

Volume 13, Issue 4, July–August 1984, Pages 253-257
JOGN Nursing

research and studies
The Effect of Prenatal Breastfeeding Education on Breastfeeding Success and Maternal Perception of the Infant

https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1552-6909.1984.tb01136.xGet rights and content

A quasi-experimental design was used to determine the effect of prenatal breastfeeding education on maternal reports of success in breastfeeding and maternal perception of the infant. The sample consisted of 40 primiparous women who desired to breastfeed their Infants. All subjects were enrolled to attend childbirth education classes and vaginally delivered full-term, healthy infants without complication. Twenty subjects attended a prenatal breastfeeding education class and 20 served as controls. Data revealed that primiparous women who received prenatal breastfeeding education reported a significantly higher frequency of success in breastfeeding than those who did not (P = 0.01). There was a significant difference in the Neonatal Perception Inventory (NPI) I scores of experimental and control subjects at one to two days postpartum (P = 0.05). The NPI II scores of the experimental mothers were significantly more positive at one month postpartum (P = 0.001). Primiparous women who received prenatal breastfeeding education reported significantly more positive NPI II scores than the control group (P = 0.001).

Section snippets

Purpose and Hypotheses

The purpose of the study was to answer the following questions: 1) What is the relationship between prenatal breastfeeding education and maternal reports of success in breastfeeding? 2) What is the relationship between maternal reports of success in breastfeeding and mothers’ perceptions of their infants?

The hypotheses were

  • 1)

    Primiparous women who receive prenatal breastfeeding education will report a higher frequency of success in breastfeeding than primiparous women who do not receive prenatal

Methodology

A quasi-experimental design was used in this study. The subjects in the control and experimental groups were a convenience sample selected from a list of all possible subjects enrolled in childbirth education classes at a 1000-bed hospital in the midwest. To meet subject criteria, the woman had to be

1) a primigravida who planned to breastfeed her infant, 2) at least 32 weeks into pregnancy, and 3) registered to attend childbirth education classes. Forty women were chosen and randomly assigned

Results

The demographic data related to the two groups of subjects revealed them to be fairly homogenous with regard to age, marital status, and educational level of self and spouse. The experimental subjects ranged in age from 20 to 35 years with the mean age being 26.7 years. The control subjects ranged in age from 18 to 37 years with the mean age being 25.1 years. Ninety percent of both experimental and control subjects were married, and ten percent were single, never having been married. The

Discussion

Primiparous women who attended the prenatal breastfeeding education class reported a significantly higher frequency of success at one month postpartum than those primiparous women who did not attend the class. Thus, a formalized teaching plan in the form of a prenatal breastfeeding education class does provide primiparous women with the information they need to have the type of breastfeeding experience they consider to be successful.

The second hypothesis, which indicated there would be no

Nursing Implications

The results of this study have implications for nursing in the area of anticipatory guidance, specifically prenatal breastfeeding education. There is a trend today for prospective parents to enroll in classes to prepare them for their roles as new parents. This study provides empirical evidence that prenatal breastfeeding education is a form of anticipatory guidance that provides the mother-to-be who desires to breastfeed with the information she requires to have what she perceives to be a

Conclusion

Results of this study indicate that anticipatory guidance in the form of prenatal breastfeeding education leads to maternal reports of success in breastfeeding and a positive perception of the infant at one month postpartum. Mothers in the experimental group cited the class as the primary factor contributing to their success.

Those subjects who did not receive the prenatal breastfeeding education class reported a significantly greater lack of success in breastfeeding, had significantly more

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    2008, The Lancet
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    We also reviewed specific breastfeeding promotion studies (table 3), and showed that, with individual counselling, the odds of exclusive breastfeeding were substantially increased in the neonatal period (15 studies; odds ratio [OR] 3·45, 95% CI 2·20–5·42, p<0·0001; random effects) and at 6 months of age (nine studies; 1·93, 1·18–3·15, p<0·0001).35–55 Group counselling increased the odds of exclusive breastfeeding in the neonatal period, (six studies; 3·88, 2·09–7·22, p<0·0001; random effects) and at 6 months of age (five studies; 5·19, 1·90–14·15, p<0·00001; random effects).55–63 An assessment of a national mass-media campaign in Honduras reported that it increased exclusive breastfeeding from 48% to 70% at 1 month, from 24% to 31% at 4 months, and from 7% to 12% at 6 months of age.64

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The author thanks Dr. Edna Menke for assistance in the research process. This study was partially funded by the Research Development Fund of the Center for Nursing Research at Ohio State University.

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