Abstract
BackgroundBody image concerns have been widely documented in the literature as one reason why most women shorten the breastfeeding duration of their infants. Negative body image concerns among breastfeeding mothers may lead to depressive symptoms. There is a paucity of literature on how body image affects the breastfeeding practices of nurses and midwives. Therefore, this study explored the perspectives of breastfeeding nurses and midwives on how their body image affected their breastfeeding practices.MethodsA qualitative design was used in this study. Five focus group discussions were conducted with each group having five members. The study was conducted in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana between November and December of 2020. Participants were recruited into the study using a purposive sampling method. Focus group sessions were audiotaped and transcribed verbatim. Data were analyzed using a content analysis.ResultsThree main themes emerged from the data analysis: body image concerns and breastfeeding, sociocultural pressures and breastfeeding and coping strategies. Participants had concerns regarding weight gain due to the need to eat adequately while breastfeeding. Body image concerns included increase in abdominal size, sagging breasts and generalized weight gain. These concerns and pressures negatively affected the breastfeeding practices of participants. Body image concerns reflected sociocultural pressures such as negative comments from loved ones and in the social media. The coping strategies adopted by the mothers were self-motivation and the love they had for their children.ConclusionsThe perspectives of breastfeeding nurses and midwives on the ways their body image affected their breastfeeding practices identified the need for support in order to successfully breastfeed.
Highlights
Body image concerns have been widely documented in the literature as one reason why most women shorten the breastfeeding duration of their infants
Themes and sub-themes The three main themes that emerged from the data were: body image concerns and breastfeeding, sociocultural pressures and breastfeeding, and coping strategies
Body image concerns and breastfeeding This theme identified various concerns shared by breastfeeding nurses and midwives concerning their body shape and image under three sub-themes, namely: concerns over generalized weight gain and breastfeeding; sagging breasts and breastfeeding; and concerns over increased abdominal size and breastfeeding
Summary
Body image concerns have been widely documented in the literature as one reason why most women shorten the breastfeeding duration of their infants. Negative body image concerns among breastfeeding mothers may lead to depressive symptoms. Negative body image concerns among breastfeeding mothers may lead to depressive symptoms such as constant feelings of sadness, general disinterest in one’s surroundings, loss of appetite, and reduced self-esteem. These factors may eventually result in a shorter duration of breastfeeding [21, 23, 25, 26]. During pregnancy some mothers may not intend to breastfeed their infants because of excess weight gain during pregnancy [15, 28] This situation may be more prevalent when pregnant women are unable to appreciate the changes that occur in the female body during pregnancy [15]. This phenomena may reflect the fact that breastfeeding has been associated with weight loss in young mothers [5, 30]
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