A Descriptive Qualitative Study of Breastfeeding Challenges, Enablers and Confidence Among Women With Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy.
Sonia Semenic, Sonia A Castiglione, Carla Benea and 2 others
PMID 41065092WHAT IT FOUND
Women with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy reported insufficient milk and inconsistent professional support as common breastfeeding problems.
Hands-on help, regular follow-up, and encouragement from nurses or lactation specialists were described as key.
Key findings
0161% of participants identified insufficient milk supply as a breastfeeding challenge.
02Almost all participants described hands-on help and reassurance from health professionals as critical for breastfeeding.
03Being actively discouraged by others was the most commonly reported factor reducing breastfeeding confidence.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The women were self-selected from a small, single-site pilot study, so their experiences may not represent all women with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy. Interviews happened at different times after birth and were not repeated, so responses may reflect a single moment rather than a stable pattern. Women still receiving study lactation support may have given socially desirable answers about the support they received. The interviews and coding were in English and French, which may have affected interpretation despite bilingual team review. The study did not objectively measure milk volumes, so reported supply problems may include perceived insufficient milk.
Declared interests
The study was funded in part by a Heart and Stroke Foundation Quebec-McGill University early career professorship in heart and brain health and the McGill University Health Center Department of Nursing. The authors declared no other conflicts of interest. An author was a doctoral student supervised by another author.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that breastfeeding self-efficacy support improves milk supply, blood pressure, or cardiovascular outcomes. This sub-study only asked women about their experiences and did not test whether any intervention changed clinical outcomes.