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Article: An exploration of the knowledge and attitudes towards breastfeeding among a sample of Chinese mothers in Ireland

TitleAn exploration of the knowledge and attitudes towards breastfeeding among a sample of Chinese mothers in Ireland
Authors
Issue Date2010
PublisherBioMed Central Ltd. The Journal's web site is located at http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmcpublichealth/
Citation
BMC Public Health, 2010, v. 10, article no. 722 How to Cite?
AbstractBackground: Psychological factors are important in influencing breastfeeding practices. This retrospective study explored knowledge and attitudes related to breastfeeding of Chinese mothers living in Ireland. Methods. A cross-sectional self-administrated survey written in Chinese was distributed to a convenience sample of 322 immigrant Chinese mothers mainly via Chinese supermarkets and Chinese language schools in Dublin, with the involvement of the snowball method to increase sample size. Maternal breastfeeding knowledge and attitudes were described, their associations with socio-demographic variables were explored by Chi-square analysis, and their independent associations with breastfeeding behaviours were estimated by binary logistic regression analyses. Results. In spite of considerable awareness of the advantages of breastfeeding (mean score = 4.03 0.73), some misconceptions (e.g. 'mother should stop breastfeeding if she catches a cold') and negative attitudes (e.g. breastfeeding inconvenient, embarrassing, and adverse to mothers' figure) existed, especially among the less educated mothers. Cultural beliefs concerning the traditional Chinese postpartum diet were prevalent, particularly among those who had lived in Ireland for a shorter duration (P = 0.004). Psychological parameters had strong independent associations with breastfeeding practices in this study. Those who had lower awareness score (OR = 2.98, 95% CI: 1.87-4.73), more misconceptions and negative attitudes (P < 0.05), and weaker cultural beliefs (P < 0.05) were less likely to breastfeed. Conclusions. Findings highlight a need to focus resources and education on correcting the misconceptions identified and reversing the negative attitudes towards breastfeeding among Chinese mothers in Ireland, in particular those with primary/secondary level of education. Mothers' cultural beliefs should also be acknowledged and understood by healthcare providers. © 2010 Zhou et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.
Persistent Identifierhttp://hdl.handle.net/10722/186379
ISSN
2023 Impact Factor: 3.5
2023 SCImago Journal Rankings: 1.253
PubMed Central ID
ISI Accession Number ID

 

DC FieldValueLanguage
dc.contributor.authorZhou, Qen_US
dc.contributor.authorYounger, KMen_US
dc.contributor.authorKearney, JMen_US
dc.date.accessioned2013-08-20T12:06:49Z-
dc.date.available2013-08-20T12:06:49Z-
dc.date.issued2010en_US
dc.identifier.citationBMC Public Health, 2010, v. 10, article no. 722en_US
dc.identifier.issn1471-2458en_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10722/186379-
dc.description.abstractBackground: Psychological factors are important in influencing breastfeeding practices. This retrospective study explored knowledge and attitudes related to breastfeeding of Chinese mothers living in Ireland. Methods. A cross-sectional self-administrated survey written in Chinese was distributed to a convenience sample of 322 immigrant Chinese mothers mainly via Chinese supermarkets and Chinese language schools in Dublin, with the involvement of the snowball method to increase sample size. Maternal breastfeeding knowledge and attitudes were described, their associations with socio-demographic variables were explored by Chi-square analysis, and their independent associations with breastfeeding behaviours were estimated by binary logistic regression analyses. Results. In spite of considerable awareness of the advantages of breastfeeding (mean score = 4.03 0.73), some misconceptions (e.g. 'mother should stop breastfeeding if she catches a cold') and negative attitudes (e.g. breastfeeding inconvenient, embarrassing, and adverse to mothers' figure) existed, especially among the less educated mothers. Cultural beliefs concerning the traditional Chinese postpartum diet were prevalent, particularly among those who had lived in Ireland for a shorter duration (P = 0.004). Psychological parameters had strong independent associations with breastfeeding practices in this study. Those who had lower awareness score (OR = 2.98, 95% CI: 1.87-4.73), more misconceptions and negative attitudes (P < 0.05), and weaker cultural beliefs (P < 0.05) were less likely to breastfeed. Conclusions. Findings highlight a need to focus resources and education on correcting the misconceptions identified and reversing the negative attitudes towards breastfeeding among Chinese mothers in Ireland, in particular those with primary/secondary level of education. Mothers' cultural beliefs should also be acknowledged and understood by healthcare providers. © 2010 Zhou et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.en_US
dc.languageengen_US
dc.publisherBioMed Central Ltd. The Journal's web site is located at http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmcpublichealth/en_US
dc.relation.ispartofBMC Public Healthen_US
dc.rightsBMC Public Health. Copyright © BioMed Central Ltd.en_US
dc.rightsThis work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.en_US
dc.subject.meshBreast Feedingen_US
dc.subject.meshChina - ethnologyen_US
dc.subject.meshHealth Knowledge, Attitudes, Practiceen_US
dc.subject.meshIrelanden_US
dc.subject.meshMothers - psychologyen_US
dc.titleAn exploration of the knowledge and attitudes towards breastfeeding among a sample of Chinese mothers in Irelanden_US
dc.typeArticleen_US
dc.identifier.emailZhou, Q: qlzhou@hku.hken_US
dc.description.naturepublished_or_final_versionen_US
dc.identifier.doi10.1186/1471-2458-10-722en_US
dc.identifier.pmid21092303en_US
dc.identifier.pmcidPMC3001733en_US
dc.identifier.scopuseid_2-s2.0-78549282465-
dc.identifier.hkuros216701en_US
dc.identifier.volume10, article no. 722en_US
dc.identifier.isiWOS:000285308800002-
dc.publisher.placeUnited Kingdomen_US
dc.identifier.issnl1471-2458-

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