Determinants of infant-feeding choice among young women in Hilo, Hawaii.
Our multicultural island community is unique in that many young mothers live in multigenerational households. In this qualitative study, we examined the factors that influenced young mothers' infant-feeding practices in Hilo, a small rural town in the Hawaiian Islands. The study participants consisted of young mothers, health care professionals, and educators. Our findings suggest that both the young mother's mother and her partner are very influential in the infant-feeding decision. Many young women in our study bottle fed to obtain assistance in caretaking, and to facilitate public breastfeeding. Additionally, we explored young mother's views of sexuality and breastfeeding, and their health promotion implications.
Morrison
Lynn
L
Department of Anthropology, University of Hawaii, Hilo, Hawaii, USA.
Reza
Angela
A
Cardines
Ka'imiala
K
Foutch-Chew
Kristel
K
Severance
Craig
C
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D001903:Bottle Feeding / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D001942:Breast Feeding / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003466:Cultural Characteristics; D003657:Decision Making; D005220:Fathers / Q000523:psychology; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000208:ethnology; D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D006254:Hawaii; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology*; D012424:Rural Population; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires