Attitudes And Experiences Of Breastfeeding In Public Places:A Mixed Method Study

Background:Breastfeeding is benefit for both mothers and infants.However,the exclusive breastfeeding rate is low and breastfeeding duration is not long.One reason leads to this is the inconvenience of breastfeeding in public.There's little known about people's attitude to and women's experience of breastfeeding in public.Objective:(1)To explore Chinese women's experiences of breastfeeding in public;(2)To know Chinese adults' attitudes towards breastfeeding in public;(3)To identify the effect of adults' attitudes on women's breastfeeding behavior;(4)To compare the similarities and differences among adults' and women's attitudes toward breastfeeding in public.Methods:A mixed method research combining qualitative research and quantitative research was used.Qualitative research did face to face interviews using semi-structured guideline with 27 women who had the experience of breastfeeding in public places.Qualitative data was analyzed by content analysis.Quantitative research used the self-designed questionnaire of attitudes to breastfeeding in public to do wed-based survey.The survey was spread by Wechat,Tecent QQ and Microblog.A convenience sampling of 2021 participant were recruited.Quantitative data was analyzed by SPSS 20.0.Descriptive statistics were used to analyze characteristics of participants;Chi-square test and multiple logistic regression analysis were used to compare the difference of attitudes to breastfeeding in public and to determine agreement related to sociodemographic characteristics.Results:Qualitative part:Two themes emerged from interviews.One theme was experiences of breastfeeding in public places with complicated emotions,which including 3 sub-themes:baby-centered women(breastfeeding without hesitation);pause and ponder(depending on specific situation);and mother-centered women(having no alternative but breastfeeding in public places).Another theme was strong demand for more positive social support,favorable policies and necessary facilities to ensure breastfeed in public places successfully.Quantitative part:Almost 95%believed that public places should have lactation rooms and 86%thought it was acceptable for mothers to breastfeeding in this location;65%of respondents agreed that it was acceptable for mothers to breastfeed in public.Though 47%believed that viewing women breastfeeding in public was embarrassing,over 80%felt that breastfeeding in public was appropriate and decent and did not violate social morality.More than 90%of respondents approved of policies supporting breastfeeding in public.Women,married persons,those who had children,had some knowledge about breastfeeding or had the experience of viewing women breastfeeding in public were more likely to hold positive perceptions and attitudes toward breastfeeding in public places.Conclusion:Prior experience and knowledge about breastfeeding have a great influence on people's perceptions and attitudes toward breastfeeding in public,so education about breastfeeding is very important.Breastfeeding education should not only include the techniques of breastfeeding practices,but also include information policies that support breastfeeding in public,including the importance of lactation rooms.What's more,increasing the general public's acceptance of breastfeeding practice and recommendations to government health officials to ensure women's success of breastfeeding in public are expected.