The Effect of Breastfeeding Education in African American Women on Initiation and Duration of Breastfeeding

Author

Shalawn F. HarrisFollow

Campus Location

Dallas Campus (Online)

Date of Award

4-2021

Document Type

DNP Project

Department

Nursing

Degree Name

Doctor of Nursing Practice

Committee Chair or Primary Advisor

Tonya Sawyer-McGee

Second Committee Member or Secondary Advisor

Faisal Aboul-Enein

Third Committee Member or Committee Reader

Molly Kuhle

Abstract

Abstract

This Doctor of Nursing Practice scholarly project aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of breastfeeding education in African American women on the initiation and duration of breastfeeding. Studies demonstrated that breastfeeding education by providers and a breastfeeding support network positively influenced breastfeeding initiation and continuation in African American women. Breastfeeding education containing information on the decreased risk of breast cancer in African American women may be an even greater motivator for breastfeeding. Participants for this project were African American women, ages 18–50, in their last trimester of pregnancy. The project was approved to be implemented at an urban clinic in the Dallas–Fort Worth, Texas metroplex. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, candidates for the study were recruited by word-of-mouth through mutual acquaintances. Participants were provided with a breastfeeding education program that contained information regarding the decreased breast cancer risk. The Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy Scale-Short Form was administered as a pretest before the breastfeeding education and as a posttest following the breastfeeding education. Participants were contacted postpartum for a brief survey at one, six, and 12 weeks postpartum.

Keywords: breastfeeding, breast cancer, breastfeeding self-efficacy, African American breastfeeding, breastfeeding education, triple-negative breast cancer

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

Recommended Citation

Harris, Shalawn F., "The Effect of Breastfeeding Education in African American Women on Initiation and Duration of Breastfeeding" (2021). Digital Commons @ ACU, Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 330.
https://digitalcommons.acu.edu/etd/330