Posters
Presentation Type
Poster
Discipline Track
Patient Care
Abstract Type
Research/Clinical
Abstract
Introduction: Mothers of very low birthweight infants undergo many obstacles initiating, and then continuing breastfeeding. The AAP (2022) recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months of life. A Level III NICU along the US-Mexico border, cares for over 140 VLBW infants per year. Hidalgo County is an underserved-underrepresented Latino community. 97% of our mothers live near or at the poverty level. Mothers who are newly emigrated from Mexico are often disenfranchised from our medical community and proper health care (Galvan et al. 2021). The incidence of maternal anxiety and depression in the NICU maternal population is high, adding stress to the challenges of successfully breastfeeding (Bernardo, 2021).
Objective: The goal of this study is to identify if partner support is a critical factor that helps Latina mothers successfully establish breastfeeding and breast pumping, and exclusively breastfeed their infants at discharge. The hypothesis is that those mothers who have supportive primary partners will score very high on our Partner Support of Breastfeeding (PSB) questionnaire. Mothers who have difficulty breastfeeding, will lack a supportive primary partner relationship, scoring low on the PSB. Secondarily, we will look to define what specifically partners can do to successfully support breastfeeding.
Methods: A 10 item Parental Support of Breastfeeding Questionnaire (PSB) was created by authors using ordinal (1-10) and nominal questions. The PSB is administered by either the neonatologist, Student-Lactation Consultant. The PSBQ was provided to twenty-five NICU mothers. Scores indicate subjective partner support the mother received during the NICU breastfeeding process. A score of > 85 correlates with high partner involvement. A score between 50-84, moderate support, below 50, minimal support.
Results: A total of twenty-five mothers of VLBW infants were interviewed. NICU mothers that successfully established breastfeeding during NICU stay had data indicating high-level support from a partner (M= 10.0), encouragement from partner (M = 100%), partner help at night ( M =100%), help with equipment ( M=100%), support of pumping schedules (M = 8.4), partner accommodations to needs (M= 9.2), would breastfeed without support ( M = 80%), partner supportive of diet and nutritional (M = 10.0) supportive rest and sleep (M=10.0), partner played a role in breastfeeding (M=100%). All 25 participants scored higher than an >85 for the PSB.
Conclusion: Our findings indicate that parental support during the breastfeeding process is fundamentally important to establishing successful breastfeeding in Latina mothers admitted with VLBW infants in Level III NICU. Mothers with excellent partner support successfully breastfeed. Mothers with no partner support do not breastfeed. In conclusion NICU mothers that successfully provided breastmilk for their baby while in the NICU reported having support in various aspects during the breastfeeding journey. This information further supports our recent educational efforts to focus on and include partners in our lactation education program.
Recommended Citation
Honrubia, Mia; Garcia, Kassandra; and Almaguer-Botero, Andrea P., "The Effects of Partner Support on Breastfeeding in Underserved NICU Latina Mothers Living along the US-Mexico Border" (2024). Research Symposium. 119.
https://scholarworks.utrgv.edu/somrs/2023/posters/119
Included in
The Effects of Partner Support on Breastfeeding in Underserved NICU Latina Mothers Living along the US-Mexico Border
Introduction: Mothers of very low birthweight infants undergo many obstacles initiating, and then continuing breastfeeding. The AAP (2022) recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months of life. A Level III NICU along the US-Mexico border, cares for over 140 VLBW infants per year. Hidalgo County is an underserved-underrepresented Latino community. 97% of our mothers live near or at the poverty level. Mothers who are newly emigrated from Mexico are often disenfranchised from our medical community and proper health care (Galvan et al. 2021). The incidence of maternal anxiety and depression in the NICU maternal population is high, adding stress to the challenges of successfully breastfeeding (Bernardo, 2021).
Objective: The goal of this study is to identify if partner support is a critical factor that helps Latina mothers successfully establish breastfeeding and breast pumping, and exclusively breastfeed their infants at discharge. The hypothesis is that those mothers who have supportive primary partners will score very high on our Partner Support of Breastfeeding (PSB) questionnaire. Mothers who have difficulty breastfeeding, will lack a supportive primary partner relationship, scoring low on the PSB. Secondarily, we will look to define what specifically partners can do to successfully support breastfeeding.
Methods: A 10 item Parental Support of Breastfeeding Questionnaire (PSB) was created by authors using ordinal (1-10) and nominal questions. The PSB is administered by either the neonatologist, Student-Lactation Consultant. The PSBQ was provided to twenty-five NICU mothers. Scores indicate subjective partner support the mother received during the NICU breastfeeding process. A score of > 85 correlates with high partner involvement. A score between 50-84, moderate support, below 50, minimal support.
Results: A total of twenty-five mothers of VLBW infants were interviewed. NICU mothers that successfully established breastfeeding during NICU stay had data indicating high-level support from a partner (M= 10.0), encouragement from partner (M = 100%), partner help at night ( M =100%), help with equipment ( M=100%), support of pumping schedules (M = 8.4), partner accommodations to needs (M= 9.2), would breastfeed without support ( M = 80%), partner supportive of diet and nutritional (M = 10.0) supportive rest and sleep (M=10.0), partner played a role in breastfeeding (M=100%). All 25 participants scored higher than an >85 for the PSB.
Conclusion: Our findings indicate that parental support during the breastfeeding process is fundamentally important to establishing successful breastfeeding in Latina mothers admitted with VLBW infants in Level III NICU. Mothers with excellent partner support successfully breastfeed. Mothers with no partner support do not breastfeed. In conclusion NICU mothers that successfully provided breastmilk for their baby while in the NICU reported having support in various aspects during the breastfeeding journey. This information further supports our recent educational efforts to focus on and include partners in our lactation education program.