The benefits of breastfeeding for mother and baby are well established; however, only 37.5% of Scottish women are currently breastfeeding at six to eight weeks with less than 1% breastfeeding exclusively for six months, as recommended by UK and international health policy. Family influence is amongst the socio-demographic factors which affect breastfeeding initiation and duration and women who were not breastfed themselves are 25% less likely to initiate breastfeeding. While there is a growing body of literature which seeks to understand breastfeeding by exploring the perspectives of breastfeeding mothers, no studies can be found describing the experience of making a different feeding choice from that of one’s family-of-origin, nor of the potential impact of this decision on relationships with them. As such, this study exploring the experience of being the first in your family to breastfeed is novel. The aim of the study was to investigate the experience and meaning of being the first person to breastfeed in a family. Consequently, areas explored included women’s experience of initiating and sustaining breastfeeding when they have no immediate family history of breastfeeding, how women make sense of their decision to breastfeed and their understanding of how their decision has affected their relationships. A methodological development in the form of an Infant Feeding Genogram was used to record relevant demographic and family information and semi-structured interviews with fourteen women obtained in-depth narratives. Interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) was used as an approach and to analyse the data. Following the completion of idiographic analysis, cross participant analysis was undertaken and four superordinate themes emerged: Breaching Family and Social Norms; Volitions and Imperatives; Unprepared for the Challenge; and A Sacrifice but Worth It. Within these superordinate themes, 13 themes were identified and articulated. Findings from this research were synthesised to provide an account of how women experience being the first to breastfeed in a family, make sense of their decisions and the impact this has on their relationships with their family. This provides an understanding of women’s experience in an original context, and the contextualising within the existing literature generates commonalities and highlights differences between the experience of this group of breastfeeding women and the wider cohort. The findings of this research inform recommendations for practice at both an individual and public health levels, and have implications for policy makers, health professionals and breastfeeding support organisations. It is asserted that policy makers and the health service need to acknowledge the unanticipated consequences of some current breastfeeding discourses associated with health promotion practices, and take a mother and family focussed approach to breastfeeding that acknowledges women’s embodied experience, which often includes breastfeeding difficulties. A mother and family centred approach can identify and adapt to women’s support needs in their own particular context, which may include very limited community and family support for their decision.

Bakgrund: Helamning är när det nyfödda barnet enbart får bröstmjölk, vitaminer och läkemedel vilket rekommenderas i 6 månader till alla världens mödrar. Amning har många positiva fördelar för både barnet och modern. När amningen inte fungerar bidrar det ofta till negativa känslor av skuld, oro och misslyckande. För att hjälpa mödrarna att få amningen att fungera bedrivs amningsstöd av vårdpersonalen på olika sätt. Amningsstöd beskrivs som en blandning av praktisk hjälp, information och psykiskt stöd. Det har visats att amningsstöd både ökar durationen av helamning och mödrarnas tro på den egna förmågan. Syfte: Syftet är att studera hur amningsstöd upplevs av nyblivna mödrar. Metod: En litteraturstudie baserad på 16 vetenskapliga studier med kvalitativ ansats. De databaser som användes var CINAHL, PubMed och SveMed. Resultat: Utifrån de inkluderade studiernas resultat framkom det att mödrarnas upplevelser av amningsstöd kunde delas in i positiva och negativa upplevelser. De positiva upplevelserna hade att göra med bemötande, ageranden och social miljö som upplevdes stödjande, samt ett adekvat praktiskt stöd och uppföljning efter hemgång. Bekräftelse, uppmuntran, praktiska tips och ett individuellt utformat amningsstöd värderades högt av många mödrar. De negativa upplevelserna handlade om bemötande, information, praktiskt- och känslomässigt stöd som upplevts bristande, samt otillräcklig tid. Motstridiga råd, ett kallt bemötande och för lite tid med personalen var några faktorer som bidrog till en negativ upplevelse. Slutsats: När amningsstödet resulterade i att mödrarna kände sig bekräftade, bra bemötta och bidrog med praktisk kunskap upplevdes det positivt. Amningsstöd som istället bidrog till förvirring och känslor av att inte vara prioriterad eller unik som individ upplevdes som negativt. Resultaten från denna studie kan bidra till utveckling av ett personcentrerat amningsstöd. / Background: Exclusive breastfeeding is when the newborn baby receives only breastmilk, vitamins and medicine in terms of nutrition. This is what is recommended globally, to all women the first six months of their baby’s life. Breastfeeding comes with multiple benefits for both the baby and the mother. Encountering breastfeeding difficulties often results in negative emotions such as guilt, worry and failure. To help these mothers towards successful breastfeeding, different kinds of breastfeeding support are used by health care professionals. Breastfeeding support is described as a mixture of practical help, information and psychological support. Research has shown that breastfeeding support increases both the duration of exclusive breastfeeding and the mothers faith in their own ability to breastfeed. Aim: To study the experiences of new mothers concerning breastfeeding support. Method: A literature review based on sixteen scientific articles with qualitative inquiry. The databases used were CINAHL, PubMed and SveMed. Results: The results of the included articles on the experiences of breastfeeding support could be divided into positive and negative experiences. The positive experiences were related to how the health care workers treated them, acted and the social environment. Also fulfilling practical support and follow-up was considered positive. Factors greatly valued were confirmation, encouragement, practical tips and follow-up after leaving the hospital. The negative experiences described themes of attitudes, information, time and also practical- and emotional support that were all lacking. Factors contributing to negative experiences were conflicting advice, harsh attitudes and not enough time with the health care professionals.   Conclusion: It was received as positive experiences when the breastfeeding support resulted in feelings of confirmation, being well treated and given the practical knowledge the mothers needed. When the support instead resulted in confusion and feelings of not being a priority or a unique individual it became a negative experience. The results of this study can be a foundation for the development of breastfeeding support focusing on every unique mother.

Bakgrund: Det naturligaste sättet att ge näring åt ett nyfött barn är genom att amma, vilket inte alltid är enkelt och problemfritt. I Sverige föds ungefär 7000 barn per år som behöver vård på neonatalavdelningar. När ett barn är fött för tidigt kan amning dessutom vara förenat med ytterligare svårigheter. Problematiken som kan uppstå kan bero på att det för tidigt födda barnet är omoget och därför inte har samma förutsättningar som fullgångna barn har för att amma. Mödrar på neonatalavdelningar kan samtidigt uppleva en stress och oro över den nya situationen med att ha fått ett för tidigt fött barn. Vårdpersonal har en viktig roll i att ge det amningsstöd som krävs för att främja amning bland för tidigt födda barn. Syfte: Syftet med studien var att belysa mödrars upplevelser av amningsstöd på neonatalavdelningar. Metod: En intervjustudie med kvalitativ ansats utfördes. Elva intervjuer genomfördes och materialet analyserades med inspiration av Burnards analysmetod för kvalitativa intervjuer.Resultat: Mödrarnas upplevelser av amningsstöd resulterade i fyra kategorier: bemötande, vägledning, kompetens och tillgänglighet, med två tillhörande underkategorier vardera.Slutsats: Mödrarna upplevde att endast ett fåtal av personalgruppen kunde ge amningsstöd. Amningsstöd handlade om både kunskap och erfarenhet, men även om upplevelsen kring samspelet mellan personalen och modern. Samspelet handlade till stor del om personalens bemötande och tillgänglighet. Helheten var betydelsefull för upplevelsen av amningsstöd. / Background: The most natural way to nourish a newborn baby is by breastfeeding, which is not always easy and trouble-free. Each year about 7000 children who need care in neonatal departments are born in Sweden. When a baby is born prematurely breastfeeding may be associated with additional difficulties. The difficulty that may arise may be the premature baby’s immaturity and therefore the conditions are not the same as a full-term baby’s capacity to breastfeed. At the same time, mothers in neonatal departments experience stress and anxiety about the new situation of having a premature baby. Nursing staff have an important role in providing the breastfeeding support needed, to promote breastfeeding among premature babies.Aim: The aim of the study was to highlight mothers’ experiences of breastfeeding support in neonatal departments.Method: An interview study with a qualitative approach has been performed. Eleven interviews where completed and then analyzed with inspiration of Burnards method of analyzing qualitative interviews.Results: The mothers' experiences of breastfeeding support resulted in four categories: encounter, guidance, competence and availability, with two matching subcategories each.Conclusion: The mothers felt that only a few of the nursing staff could provide breastfeeding support. Breastfeeding support was about knowledge and experience, but also about the experience of the interaction between the staff and the mother. The interaction was largely about the staff's encounter and availability. The entirety was important for the experience of breastfeeding support.

This diploma thesis deals with the degree of autonomy of women in the issue of breastfeeding in the Czech environment. It examines in particular the form of current breastfeeding and its normativity through narativ interviews with women who had breastfeeding experience. The aim of this work is to expose the form of the current brestfeeding standard, its limits, negativity and impacts through feminist optics and offer possible solutions in the discourse of breastfeeding. The basic theoretical starting point of the thesis is the development of infant feeding standards, its promotion and legislative anchoring in the Czech Republic as social approach of brestfeeding as well. In particular, the thesis deals with the feminist critique of the discourse of the fight, which provides the necessary arguments for looking at the phenomenon of breastfeeding standard in a different way and introducing the standard as social and cultural constructed. The analysis is the result of introducing current breastfeeding standards in the Czech republic as a directive reuqirement towards women to breastfeed which threatens women's integrity. Keywords breastfeeding standard, breastfeeding support strategy, breastfeeding promotion, feminist critique, breastfeeding experience