Infant Feeding in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada: Perceptions and Experiences of Maternal Grandmothers

• Published in: The Journal of Perinatal Education
• Main Authors: Young, Felicie, Twells, Laurie, Joy, Rhonda, Newhook, Leigh Anne, Goodridge, Janet Murphy, Burrage, Lorraine
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: Springer Publishing Company 2016
• Subjects: Featured Article; Canada; Newfoundland
• Online Access: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6310905/; http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30643369; https://doi.org/10.1891/1058-1243.25.4.223

The purpose of this study was to examine the primary factors that influenced grandmothers’ choices of infant feeding and to explore the role that grandmothers feel they played in their daughters’ choices about infant feeding. Twenty-two maternal grandmothers who bottle fed their children and whose daughters also bottle fed their babies were recruited to participate in 4 focus groups and/or 2 interviews. Using the constant comparative method of data analysis, 3 themes emerged that described how grandmothers felt about their infant feeding experiences: “powerlessness,” “modesty,” and “ambivalence.” These themes and their implications are discussed in this article.