title: Student nurses' attitudes and beliefs about breast-feeding.
abstract: This study explored the breast-feeding attitudes and beliefs of students newly enrolled in an urban university baccalaureate nursing program. A qualitative approach was used to conduct in-depth semistructured interviews with 12 students prior to their formal course work in maternal-child nursing. Four themes emerged from the data analysis: 1. Personal experiences are important in the development of breast-feeding attitudes and beliefs. 2. The students generally believed that breast-feeding offered benefits for babies and mothers, but the beliefs were stronger for those who grew up with breast-feeding as the norm. 3. All the students believed that there were barriers to breast-feeding in the United States that they identified as the societal view of the breast, dependence/independence conflicts, and concerns about intimacy. 4. The students identified an educational rather than promotional role for nurses in breast-feeding because of conflicts about personal choice. This study suggests that students need help identifying their attitudes and beliefs about breast-feeding and reflecting how their personal experiences influence breast-feeding promotion.
authors.affiliation: International Center of Research for Women, Children, and Families, University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, Philadelphia, PA, USA. rcricco@nursing.upenn.edu
authors.forename: Roberta
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Cricco-Lizza
mesh_terms: D001942:Breast Feeding; D004508:Education, Nursing, Baccalaureate; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016389:Maternal-Child Nursing / Q000193:education*; D014481:United States