Toward a clinically useful method of predicting early breast-feeding attrition

Lewallen, Lynne Porter; Dick, Margaret J.; Wall, Yolanda; Zickefoose, Kimberly Taylor; Hannah, Susan Hensley; Flowers, Janet; Powell, Wanda

doi:10.1016/j.apnr.2005.06.004

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Volume 19, Issue 3 , Pages 144-148, August 2006

Toward a clinically useful method of predicting early breast-feeding attrition

Lynne Porter Lewallen, PhD, RN
- Department of Parent Child Nursing, School of Nursing, The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, NC 27402-6170, USA
- Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 336 334 5170.
Margaret J. Dick, PhD, RN
- Hickory Outreach Program, School of Nursing, The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, NC 27402-6170, USA
Yolanda Wall, MSN, RN
- Department of Nursing, Richmond Community College, Hamlet, NC 28345, USA
Kimberly Taylor Zickefoose, MSN, RN
- North Lincoln High School, Carolinas Medical Center, Maiden, NC 28650, USA
Susan Hensley Hannah, MSN, RN
- Department of Parent Child Nursing, School of Nursing, The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, NC 27402-6170, USA
Janet Flowers, MSN, RN
- Catawba Valley Medical Center, Hickory, NC 28602, USA
Wanda Powell, MSN, RN, NNP
- Frye Regional Medical Center, Hickory, NC 28601, USA

Received 5 November 2004; accepted 3 June 2005.

Abstract

Purpose

The overall purpose of this study was to revise and test an instrument to identify, during the early postpartum period, women at risk for early breast-feeding attrition. This study was completed in two phases: the first phase tested a revision of the Breast-Feeding Attrition Prediction Tool (BAPT); the second, a new instrument, the Breast-Feeding Attitude Scale (BrAS), which was adapted from the BAPT.

Study Design and Methods

The two phases of this study involved 415 pregnant and postpartum women. Women answered questions either by phone (pregnant women) or in their hospital rooms after delivery (postpartum women). Data were analyzed using t tests and reliability analysis.

Results

The BAPT did not predict early breast-feeding attrition; however, the BrAS did differentiate between the attitudes of breast-feeding women and those of formula-feeding women and had adequate reliability.

Clinical Implications

Women at risk for early breast-feeding attrition should be identified early so nursing interventions can be directed toward preventing early unintended weaning. Although the BrAS did not reliably identify women at risk in this sample, it did highlight important differences between breast-feeding and formula-feeding women that can be used in designing preconceptional or prenatal educational assessments and interventions.