Background: Despite the decrease and achieving the fourth target of the Millennium Development Goals, infant mortality is still high in Brazil. Neonatal mortality represents 60% of infant mortality. Almost one million neonatal deaths occur on the day of birth. Adequate hospital structure and high coverage of work processes in neonatal care, recommended by World Health Organization in the Essential Newborn Care program could reduce neonatal mortality. Objective: to assess hospital structure adequacy according newborns needs and to describe the coverage of Essential Newborn Care items in Brazilian neonatal care, next to childbirth. Methods: A cohort study was conducted between February 2011 and October 2012, in 266 public and private funding maternity hospitals of five major regions of Brazil including data of 23,894 postnatal women and their infants. We interviewed maternity hospitals managers and postnatal woman and we assay medical records of mothers and newborns. The proportions of newborns with high obstetric risk were analysed according to the presence of Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and the level of adequacy of hospital structure. To analyse association between the categories, we used the chi-square test, considering p <0.05. Simple regression models were developed to estimate the strength of the associations between the dependent variable (non-access to each item of essential newborn care) and the hospital structure and maternal socio-demographics characteristics. In sequence, multiple regression models were developed with each dependent variable and the independent variables that proved significant in the first analysis. The odds ratios were adjusted, and 95% CI were estimated. Results: Only 10% of newborns with high obstetric risk were born in public maternity hospitals with NICU and with an adequate structure. In private sector, they were 8%. In public sector almost 50% of newborns with high obstetric risk were born in maternity hospital without NICU; that percentage rose to over 60% in the North, Northeast and non-capital cities. Antenatal corticosteroids were used in 41% of cases where this was indicated; this declined to 20% in the North and Mid-West and rose to 63.1% at private facilities. Early skin-to-skin contact occurred in 26.3% of births and in 39.7% of vaginal deliveries. 59.1% of all newborns were breastfed in their first hour of birth. Inadequate (ORa 2.16; CI95% 1.17-4.01) and without NICU beds (ORa 3.93; CI95% 2.34-6.66) maternity hospitals were the factors most associated with non-use of antenatal corticosteroids. Caesarean section was most associated with the absence of early skin-to-skin contact (ORa 3.07; CI95% 3.37-4.90) and absence of breastfeeding in the first hour of birth (ORa 2.55; CI95% 2.21-2.96). Conclusions: A great number of newborns with high obstetric risk were born in inadequate maternity hospitals. The coverage of the Essential Newborn Care items in Brazil is low, and varies depending on the characteristics of both the mother and the health facility where the delivery occurs. We found association between absence of use of antenatal corticosteroid and inadequate structure. Caesarean section was found as a risk factor to absence of early skin-to-skin contact and breastfeeding in the first hour of birth. / Introdução: A mortalidade infantil no Brasil, apesar de ter sido reduzida e alcançado a quarta meta dos Objetivos de Desenvolvimento do Milênio, ainda é elevada. O componente neonatal é responsável por 60% dessas mortes. Quase um milhão de mortes neonatais no mundo ocorrem no mesmo dia de nascimento. Estrutura hospitalar adequada e ampliação da cobertura dos processos de atendimento ao recém-nascido (RN), que são medidas preconizadas pela Organização Mundial de Saúde e estão agrupadas no programa Essential Newborn Care, poderiam reduzir a mortalidade neonatal. Objetivos: avaliar a adequação estrutural das maternidades brasileiras às necessidades do RN e a frequência de realização dos itens do Essential Newborn Care na assistência ao RN, no período próximo ao parto. Métodos: estudo transversal utilizando dados da pesquisa “Nascer no Brasil”, coorte sobre partos e nascimentos que ocorreram entre fevereiro de 2011 e outubro de 2012, em 266 maternidades públicas e privadas das cinco macrorregiões do Brasil, incluindo dados de 23.894 puérperas e seus RNs. Informações foram obtidas por meio de entrevista com o gestor, com as puérperas e através da análise dos prontuários. As proporções de RN em situação de alto risco foram analisadas conforme a presença de Unidade de Terapia Intensiva Neonatal (UTIN) e o grau de adequação da estrutura hospitalar, verificando a associação entre essas variáveis através do teste do qui-quadrado, considerado significativo se p<0,05. Para estimar a intensidade da associação entre a ausência de realização de algum item do Essential Newborn Care e características estruturais da unidade ou sócio-demográficas maternas foram realizados modelos de regressão simples. Em seguida, modelos de regressão múltipla foram desenvolvidos utilizando cada variável dependente e as variáveis independentes que foram significativas na regressão simples. Foram estimadas as razões de chance ajustadas (ORa) com os intervalos de confiança de 95% (IC95%). Resultados: Apenas 10% dos RNs em situação de alto risco nasceram em maternidades públicas com UTIN cuja estrutura foi classificada como adequada. No setor privado este percentual foi de 8%. No setor público, quase 50% da demanda de RN em situação de alto risco nasceu em maternidade sem UTIN, percentual que se elevou para mais de 60% nas Regiões Norte, Nordeste e cidades que não eram a capital. O corticoide antenatal foi utilizado em 41% dos casos indicados; reduzindo para 20% no Norte e Centro-Oeste e aumentando para 63,1% em estabelecimentos privados. O contato pele a pele precoce ocorreu em 26,3% dos partos e em 39,7% dos partos vaginais. O início do aleitamento materno na primeira hora de vida ocorreu para 59,1% dos neonatos. Unidades classificadas como inadequadas (ORa 2,16; IC95% 1,17-4,01) e sem UTIN (ORa 3,93; IC95% 2,34-6,66) estiveram mais associadas à não utilização do corticoide antenatal. A cesariana esteve mais associada à não realização do contato pele a pele precoce (ORa 3,07; IC95% 3,37-4,90) e do aleitamento materno na primeira hora de vida (ORa 2,55; IC95% 2,21-2,96). Conclusões: Proporção importante de RNs em situação de alto risco nasceram em unidades com estrutura inadequada para atender suas necessidades. As práticas descritas no Essential Newborn Care investigadas tiveram baixa cobertura em todo o país. Houve associação entre inadequação estrutural da maternidade e não uso de corticoide antenatal. A cesariana foi encontrada como fator de risco para ausência de contato pele a pele precoce e de aleitamento materno na primeira hora de vida. / Aracaju

Introdução: Defeitos do tubo neural (DTN) são as malformações mais freqüentes do sistema nervoso. Decorrem de falha no fechamento do tubo neural embrionário entre 21-28 dias após a concepção e representam importante causa de morbimortalidade infantil passível de prevenção. Os defeitos mais freqüentes são anencefalia e espinha bífida. Considerando que o ácido fólico reduz o risco de DTN, a fortificação compulsória das farinhas de trigo e milho com ferro e ácido fólico passou a ser obrigatória no Brasil desde junho de 2004. Assim, delineou-se este estudo com vistas a proporcionar uma base de referência sobre a evolução do problema no Estado de São Paulo e contribuir para o aperfeiçoamento das políticas públicas que visam a prevenção e a minimização desse problema de saúde em nível populacional. Objetivo: Comparar a prevalência de DTN no Estado de São Paulo, antes e após a fortificação das farinhas com ácido fólico. Método: Estudo transversal analítico que utilizou dados do Sistema de Informações sobre Nascidos Vivos (Sinasc) nos períodos antes (2001-2003) e após (2006-2008) a fortificação obrigatória das farinhas com ácido fólico. A variável dependente foi a presença de DTN, identificado pelos códigos Q00 (anencefalia), Q01 (encefalocele) e Q05 (espinha bífida, que inclui meningocele e mielomeningocele) da 10ª Classificação Internacional de Doenças (CID-10). Avaliou-se a prevalência de DTN segundo período (antes/após-fortificação), características maternas e do recém nascido. Odds Ratio (OR) e respectivos intervalos de confiança (IC95%) foram utilizados para análise dos dados, conduzida no software R. Utilizou-se o teste de qui-quadrado com nível de confiança de 5%. Resultados: A prevalência total de DTN diminuiu significativamente no período estudado, passando de 0,57 por mil nascidos vivos antes da fortificação para 0,37 por mil nascidos vivos após a fortificação (OR:0,65; IC95%:0,59-0,72). Tanto a espinha bífida (OR:0,52; IC95%:0,45-0,59) quanto a anencefalia (OR:0,79; IC95%:0,67-0,92) foram menos prevalentes no período após a fortificação. Encefalocele foi a menos freqüente e não mostrou diferença na prevalência entre os períodos. Análise estratificada segundo características maternas e infantis mostrou associação estatisticamente significativa de DTN com idade materna no período antes da fortificação e com escolaridade materna, número de consultas de pré-natal e duração da gestação em ambos os períodos. As variáveis do recém-nascido que se associaram estatisticamente com DTN foram sexo no período antes da fortificação e peso ao nascer em ambos os períodos. A análise estratificada da prevalência de DTN mostrou redução significativa após a fortificação para mulheres de todas as faixas etárias (exceto para <15 anos), para aquelas com mais de três anos de estudo, com ou sem companheiro, com sete consultas de pré-natal ou mais e menos de 42 semanas de gestação. Em relação às características do recém-nascido, a análise apontou redução significativa para ambos os sexos, para nascidos com menos de 4000g e todas as raça/cor (exceto preta e outros). Conclusões: O estudo mostrou redução significativa na prevalência total de DTN no Estado de São Paulo após a fortificação das farinhas com ácido fólico e também nas prevalências de anencefalia e espinha bífida. Embora tenha que se considerar que outros fatores possam ter contribuído para esse declínio, os resultados reiteram a importância da fortificação das farinhas como medida de prevenção primária na redução da ocorrência de DTN. / Introduction: Neural tube defects (NTDs) are the most frequent malformations of the nervous system. Result of failure in the embryonic neural tube between 21-28 days after conception and are an important cause of preventable child mortality. The most frequent defects are anencephaly and spina bifida. Considering that folic acid reduces the risk of NTDs, Considering that folic acid reduces the risk of NTD, the compulsory fortification of wheat and corn flour with iron and folic acid became mandatory in Brazil since June 2004. Thus, this study was outlined in order to provide a baseline on the evolution of the problem in the State of Sao Paulo and contribute to the improvement of public policies aimed at prevention and minimization of this health problem at the population level. Objective: To compare the prevalence of NTDs in the State of Sao Paulo, before and after fortification of flour with folic acid. Methods: Analytical transversal study used data from the Information System on Live Births (Sinasc) in the periods before (2001-2003) and after (2006-2008) the mandatory fortification of flour with folic acid. The dependent variable was the presence of NTDs, identified by the codes Q00 (anencephaly), Q01 (encephalocele) and Q05 (spina bifida, meningocele and myelomeningocele including) the 10th International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10). Evaluated the prevalence of NTDs second period (before / after-fortification), and maternal characteristics of the newborn. Odds Ratio (OR) and confidence intervals (95%) were used for data analysis, conducted in the software R. Was used the chi-square test with a confidence level of 5%. Results: The total prevalence of NTDs decreased significantly during the study period, from 0,57 per thousand live births before fortification to 0,37 for a thousand live births after fortification (OR:0,65; IC95%: 0,59-0,72). Both spina bifida (OR:0,52; IC95%: 0,45-0,59) and anencephaly (OR:0,79; IC95%: 0,67-0,92) were less prevalent in the period after fortification. Encephalocele was less frequent and showed no difference in prevalence between periods. Analysis stratified by maternal characteristics and infant showed a statistically significant association of NTDs with maternal age in the period before fortification and maternal education, number of prenatal visits and duration of pregnancy in both periods. The variables of the newborn that is statistically associated with NTDs were sex in the period before fortification and birth weight in both periods. The stratified analysis of the prevalence of NTDs showed a significant decrease after fortification for women of all ages (except for <15 years) for those with more than three years of study, with or without a partner, with seven prenatal consultations or more and less than 42 weeks of gestation. In relation to the characteristics of the newborn, the analysis showed a significant reduction for both sexes, born to less than 4000g and all race/color (except black and others). Conclusions: The study showed a significant reduction in the overall prevalence of NTDs in the State of Sao Paulo after fortification of flour with folic acid and also in the prevalence of anencephaly and spina bifida. Although it is found that other factors may have contributed to this decline, the results reiterate the importance of fortification of flour as a measure of primary prevention in reducing the incidence of NTDs.

Background: The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) encourages depression screening and treatment for pregnant veterans; however, rates of depression symptoms and treatment utilization during pregnancy have not been well-studied. Methods: We used data from the Maternity Care Coordination for Women Veterans cohort study. Specifically, our aims were to: 1) examine rates and correlates of depression symptoms in a sample of pregnant veterans; 2) understand mental health care treatment utilization and explore the experiences of veterans accessing mental health care at the VHA during pregnancy; and 3) examine VHA mental health provider's perspectives on depression screening and treatment in the perinatal period. Findings: Depression symptoms were present in 28% of pregnant veterans in our sample. Social support and employment decreased odds of symptoms; history of anxiety, antidepressant use, and active duty service resulted in increased odds of symptoms. Nearly 70% of women veterans with prenatal depression symptoms received at least one mental health visit or antidepressant prescription during pregnancy. However, symptomatic pregnant women without a history of depression were less likely to receive care. Mental health providers identified absence of screening protocols and referral procedures and variability in risk/benefit conversations surrounding antidepressant use as areas of weakness for VHA mental health care during the perinatal period. Conclusions: Depression symptoms were present in nearly one in every three pregnant veterans. Depression treatment during pregnancy is complex, requiring individualized care. Policies for depression screening, referrals to providers, and medication review could be better encouraged to improve standardized care across the VHA.

Prenatal opioid exposure has been studied in relation to infants' medical outcomes. However, large gaps exist in the literature supporting early identification of atypical neurobehavior and motor development of infants with prenatal opioid exposure. The purpose of the study was to investigate whether prenatal opioid exposure has a negative influence on a newborn infant’s neurobehavior and motor development to aid in the early identification of potential delays. Using a prospective quasi experimental design, infants motor development using the Test of Infant Motor Performance (TIMP) and neurobehavior using the NICU Neonatal Network Scale (NNNS) was assessed on 58 infants in a hospital setting. Even after statistically controlling for covariates both the TIMP and the six out of twelve subscales of the NNNS: attention, handling, self-regulation, arousal, excitability, and stress were significantly different between the two groups of infants. Infants’ TIMP z-scores were significantly correlated with the NNNS subscales of attention, handing, self-regulation, arousal, excitability, hypertonicity, non-optimal reflexes, and stress. The findings highlight the similarities between the two groups and the outcome measures used for early identification of infants at-risk for delays following prenatal opioid exposure. The neonatal outcomes described here, including growth deficits, motor delays and altered neurobehavior are critical given their association with longer-term health and developmental impacts.

Substance Use Disorder (SUD) has plagued families of rural Appalachia for many years, perpetuating involvement in the criminal justice system as well as generational trauma for people diagnosed with SUD and their children. This points to the necessity of a trauma-informed, restorative-justice based framework for rehabilitative services to most effectively heal families, address trauma, and re-integrate people diagnosed with SUD into society. A restorative justice-based program would provide health care services for addiction and any comorbid mental health disorders as well as teach parents how to properly provide for themselves and their families, manage finances, obtain employment, and further education. Current rehabilitative program structures were evaluated in the literature, and it was found that typically, rehabilitative programs provide either strictly addiction services or mental health services, but not both. It was also found that the criminal justice system tends to sentence to 28-day inpatient rehabilitative services, which provides people diagnosed with SUD an opportunity to achieve sobriety and establish some stability; however, with little or no follow up, these people are significantly more likely to relapse. These findings were compared with the structure of Ballad Health STRONG Futures, an outpatient addiction services and behavioral health clinic located in Greeneville, TN; Red Legacy Recovery, a recovery initiative serving incarcerated women in Elizabethton, TN; and Families Free, a 501(c)3 organization providing outpatient services to Northeast Tennessee through the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services. It was found that rehabilitative care structures that addresses trauma, addiction, and aspects of daily living such as parenting, finances, education, and employment provides clients with the tools and stability needed to be successful in their respective recovery journeys. This work will provide significant insight for the creation and implementation of other substance use clinics and initiatives across the country and encourage them to address mental health and aspects of daily living to promote clients' success and break cycles of generational trauma.

Newborn hearing screening has become an increasingly important element of neonatal care in developed countries whilst only a few fragmented screening programmes are evident in developing countries. The numerous socio-economic, cultural and healthcare barriers in developing contexts do not, however, negate or diminish the need to ensure optimal outcomes for infants with hearing loss through early identification and intervention programmes. South Africa has taken a first step toward addressing this need by publishing a Year 2002 Hearing Screening Position Statement that was produced by the Professional Board for Speech, Language and Hearing Professions of the Health Professions Council of South Africa. Interim recommendations are made toward universal newborn hearing screening programmes in three contexts: well-baby nurseries,; neonatal intensive care units (NICU) and Maternal and Child Health (MCH) clinics through their 6-week immunisation programmes. Although these clinics constitute an unfamiliar hearing screening context, they are essential platforms toward widespread screening of the majority of infants in South Africa. An urgent need therefore exists to ascertain the feasibility of hearing screening programmes at MCH 6-week immunisation clinics in order to guide the future implementation of widespread hearing screening services in South Africa. To attend to this need, an exploratory descriptive design that jointly implements quantitative and qualitative methods in a dominant-less-dominant model of triangulation was utilised to critically describe a screening programme conducted at two MCH clinics in Hammanskraal (a developing, peri-urban South African community). The quantitative methods included a structured interview to compile biographical and risk information; high frequency immittance measurements; hearing screening with OAE and AABR according to specified protocols, and diagnostic assessment of referred infants. The qualitative methods included field notes and critical reflections describing clinics as screening contexts and elucidating interactional processes involved in sustaining programmes. A total number of 510 infant-caregiver pairs were enrolled as subjects during the five-month research period. Results indicate that clinics not only provide a suitable context, but also the possibility of effective collaborations toward facilitating effective initial infant hearing screening programmes. The caregivers and infants who attended the clinics demonstrated significant degrees of socio-economic deprivation. They also reported an increased incidence of risk indicators exacerbating the population’s risk for congenital hearing loss, poor participation in the hearing screening/follow-up process, and subsequent poor involvement in a family-centred early intervention process for infants identified with hearing loss. The screening protocol effectively classified infants into risk categories for hearing loss and established useful norms for high frequency immittance in infants. The efficiency of the programme was acceptable considering the short period of implementation, but inefficient coverage with the AABR and poor follow-up return rates were obtained at the clinics. Despite prevailing barriers, the MCH 6-week immunisation clinics showed promise as platforms for widespread hearing screening programmes for infants in South Africa. The clinical implications and recommendations that emerged from the research conducted in this study were compiled and presented in the form of a preliminary service delivery model for infant hearing screening at MCH clinics. / Thesis (DPhil (Communication Pathology))--University of Pretoria, 2004. / Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology / unrestricted

Maternal infection during pregnancy is associated with increased risk of both schizophrenia and autism in offspring. Based on this observation, the maternal immune activation mouse model was developed, in which pregnant rodents are treated with immune-activating agents and the brains and behavior of the adult offspring studied. This model has been found to recapitulate a variety of molecular, cellular, and behavioral abnormalities observed in both schizophrenia and autism. However, despite the abundant evidence provided by these studies that prenatal exposure to inflammation alters brain development and function later in life, the molecular mechanisms by which inflammation mediates these effects remains unclear. It has been suggested that other prenatal risk factors for neuropsychiatric disease may alter brain development, in part, via epigenetic mechanisms such as DNA methylation and histone modification. However, a link between inflammation and epigenetic modification in brain has not been established. Therefore, the focus of my thesis was to examine the effect of inflammation on the histone modification, trimethylated histone H3 lysine 4 (H3K4me3), which has been implicated in both normal brain development and in schizophrenia. In Chapter II, I describe experiments examining the effect of a specific, cytokine, interleukin-6 (IL-6), on H3K4me3 in rat forebrain culture. I show that IL-6 treatment results in altered levels of H3K4me3 at multiple gene promoters, frequently in conjunction with altered mRNA expression levels, and demonstrate that a subset of these alterations appear to be dependent on signaling via the signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (Stat3) pathway. Furthermore, some of the genes affected by IL-6 also showed altered H3K4me3 levels in autism postmortem brain. Though a direct link still remains to be established, this observation suggests that epigenetic changes observed in neuropsychiatric disease may have been induced by prenatal exposure to inflammation. In Chapter III, I describe in vivo experiments employing the maternal immune activation (MIA) mouse model to examine the effects of prenatal inflammation on H3K4me3 in the brain of the offspring, at both fetal and adult stages. I found that immune activation resulted in increased levels of IL-6 protein in fetal brain, working memory deficits in the adult offspring, and subtle changes in H3K4me3 levels in fetal and adult brain. Taken together, these findings demonstrate that an environmental risk factor for schizophrenia and autism—namely, inflammation—is capable of inducing robust and widespread histone modifications in a model of the central nervous system and smaller changes in vivo. This suggests that prenatal exposure to inflammation in human populations may lead to increased susceptibility for neuropsychiatric disorders, in part, by altering chromatin modifications in developing brain.

Background: One in ten people in the U.S. are affected by a substance use disorder (SUD), roughly one third of whom are women. Rates of unintended pregnancy are higher in this population than in the general public. Little is understood about how women with SUD use prescription contraception and think about pregnancy. Methods: By analyzing Medicaid claims data and conducting qualitative interviews with women with SUD, this doctoral thesis seeks to: 1) compare any use of and consistent, continued coverage by prescription contraceptives between women with and without SUD; 2) determine the extent to which SUD is associated with pregnancy, abortion, and adverse feto-maternal outcomes in women who use prescription contraception; and 3) explore facilitators of and barriers to contraceptive utilization by women with SUD, using qualitative interviews. Results: Compared to women without SUD, women with SUD are less likely to use any prescription contraceptive, particularly long-acting reversible methods. Among women who do use long-acting methods, SUD is associated with less continued, consistent coverage by a prescription contraceptive. Among women who use contraception, SUD is also associated with increased odds of abortion. When interviewed, women with SUD report fatalistic attitudes towards pregnancy planning, and have difficulty conceptualizing how susceptibility to pregnancy may change over time. Women with SUD also report that pregnancy has substantial impact on their drug treatment prospects. Conclusions: This study is the first to examine contraceptive utilization by women with SUD who are enrolled in Medicaid or state-subsidized insurance. Our study may help to inform clinical practice and policy development to improve the reproductive health and wellbeing of women with SUD.

Background: Migraine headache is a chronic pain condition that affects 20% of women of reproductive age, and is often treated with triptans. Triptans are serotonin 1B, 1D, and 1F receptor agonists that act as vasoconstrictors and inhibitors of the trigeminal cervical complex as well as peripheral neurons; they cross the blood brain barrier and placenta, and as such are plausible neurodevelopmental teratogens. No studies have examined risk of neurodevelopmental problems in children with prenatal triptan exposure. This dissertation had three aims: (1) to examine risk of behavioral problems in children using in the presence of time-varying confounding by concomitant medication use; (2) to examine risk of temperamental, motor, and communication disturbances associated with prenatal triptans exposure, adjusting for unmeasured confounding by migraine type and severity; and (3) to examine changes in neurodevelopment over time associated with prenatal triptan exposure. Methods: This dissertation used data from the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study, a prospective birth cohort including more than 100,000 women recruited during their first prenatal ultrasound visit. Aims 1 and 3 used marginal structural models to assess the risk of (1) neurodevelopmental problems at age 36 months (Aim 1), or (2) change in risk of neurodevelopmental problems from 18 to 36 months (Aim 3) associated with prenatal triptan exposure. Aim 2 used propensity matching and calibration to adjust for unmeasured confounding by migraine type, severity, and attitudes towards medication use in pregnancy. Neurodevelopmental outcome measures included the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), the Emotionality, Activity, and Temperament Scale (EAS), and the Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ). Exposure to triptans was ascertained by self-report. Results: Prenatal triptan exposure was associated with greater externalizing behavior problems at 18 and 36 months, as well as greater increases in emotionality and activity from 18 to 36 months. We observed no association between triptan exposure and motor skills or communication problems; triptan use during pregnancy was associated with migraine severity but not migraine type, and adjustment for unmeasured migraine characteristics moved effect estimates towards the null. Conclusions: Prenatal triptan exposure is associated with externalizing-type behaviors and temperament in children, while migraine itself is associated with internalizing-type behaviors and temperament. The use of concomitant medications and the severity of the underlying condition both exerted substantial influence on observed effect estimates, and should be considered in any future studies of triptan medication use in pregnancy.

Breastfeeding has been established as providing the best and most complete nutrition for newborns, as this method promotes the infant’s health and supports infant growth (American Academy of Pediatrics [AAP], 2005). Mass media have been suggested as powerful and universal means of communication with the potential to impact social norms. Thus, this qualitative descriptive study explored, within the context of the Socioecological Framework, women’s decision making on whether to breastfeed or bottle-feed their infants and the effect of mass media on their decision. Data were collected in individual audiotaped interviews with participants recruited from the Massachusetts Breastfeeding Coalition and UMass Memorial Medical Center. Interview data were compared to text and visual representation from 12 Internet sites on parenting and infant feeding. Data analysis was conducted simultaneously with data collection and was continued until saturation was achieved. The comparison findings demonstrated that the emerging themes from the participant interviews reflected the information represented on the Internet sites. The main theme Media Matters Not suggested that mass media did not influence infant feeding decisions for this group of mothers. What did have an important impact on infant feeding decisions was the information and emotional support provided by partners, family, and HCPs (subtheme of Influences on Decisions). The participants offered suggestions of media messages they would like see in the future such as public service announcements of women breastfeeding their infants. In addition, the participants discussed media issues that had potential for influencing infant feeding decisions (Media Messages—Good and Bad), emphasized the need for public opinion to be altered so that breastfeeding in public would be viewed as more acceptable (Community/Public Opinions), and described suggestions for enhancing media messages about breastfeeding (Recommendations for Future Media Messages). The implications for nursing practice, public policy, and future research related to the topic were discussed.