Maternal COVID vaccination and breastfeeding during a pandemic: Habitus and health behavior decision making.
Karry Weston, Linda Bullock, Albert L Hsu and 4 others
PMID 37357425WHAT IT FOUND
In 18 Missouri mothers who were breastfeeding and vaccinated, choices were shaped by family and community attitudes, prior exposure to breastfeeding, health education, work flexibility, and accessible lactation or vaccine support.
Key findings
01Thirteen of 18 participants sought outside help to increase breastfeeding proficiency, and for these women knowledge attainment drove decisions about vaccination and breastfeeding.
02Family and community attitudes were influential: 12 participants had breastfeeding exposure through family, 7 reported family support for both breastfeeding and vaccination, and 8 reported community acceptance of both.
03Participants said easily accessed lactation support helped them continue breastfeeding when it became difficult, and 9 described outside experiences informing both infant feeding and vaccination decisions.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The sample was very small, with 18 mothers interviewed from 25 who were emailed. Participants were mostly college educated, white, middle or upper middle class, living in the Midwest, and all had chosen to breastfeed and get vaccinated, so the findings may not apply to women who did not breastfeed, did not get vaccinated, or came from different backgrounds. The study used interviews about past decisions, so it describes influences on choices rather than showing that any nurse intervention changed breastfeeding or vaccination behavior. The authors state that future research needs more diverse populations, including women who did not opt to breastfeed or get vaccinated.
Declared interests
The authors declared no relevant financial or non-financial conflicts of interest. The supplied article metadata lists non-U.S. government and NIH extramural research support.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as evidence that assessing a mother's habitus improves breastfeeding or vaccination outcomes. It is a small qualitative study of 18 mothers who had already breastfed and been vaccinated, so it describes influences on decisions, not tested results.