An Exploration of Antenatal Hand Expression.

An Exploration of Mother's Experiences of Antenatal Hand Expression of Colostrum, and the Effects Upon Breastfeeding Continuation and Maternal Emotional Health.

The study is an exploration of mother's experiences of antenatal hand expression of colostrum, and the effects upon breastfeeding continuation and maternal emotional health

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Feeding; Difficult, Newborn

Detailed Description

Second-line feeding strategies including hand expression and syringe feeding are used as an aid to breastfeeding, however little is known about their efficacy. This research explores the experiences of women who have used antenatal hand expression to identify how it affects maternal emotional health and breastfeeding continuation. UK women with recent experience of the practice were interviewed and the data analysed using thematic analysis. The results identified five themes in relation to these experiences including; The emotional distress of struggling with breastfeeding, Support as panacea but inconsistent, A crisis of confidence, Discord between knowledge, expectations and reality, and Syringe feeding as challenging but constructive. The study concludes that hand expression and syringe feeding supports women to establish breastfeeding, however, those struggling with breastfeeding need extra practical and emotional support to protect breastfeeding self-efficacy, emotional health and breastfeeding continuation. The findings highlight the importance of realistic, antenatal breastfeeding education to achieve this. Further research into second-line strategies and antenatal education programmes could contribute to the improvement of women's infant feeding experiences and improve UK breastfeeding rates.

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Actual): 9

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United Kingdom
  • Merseyside
    • Liverpool, Merseyside, United Kingdom, L69 7ZA
      • University of Liverpool

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: Female

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Women with experience of antenatal hand expression

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Women over the age of 18,
• Women with experience of antenatal hand expression within the last three months,
• Women with a good grasp of the English language.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Mothers of babies born before 37 weeks or with a medical issue (eg. tongue tie),
• Women with a mental health diagnosis

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Observational Models: Case-Only
• Time Perspectives: Cross-Sectional

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Semi-structured interview	Semi-structured interviews carried out with participants to collect qualitative data, analysed using thematic analysis.	One hour

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Liverpool

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): February 7, 2019
• Primary Completion (Actual): January 20, 2020
• Study Completion (Actual): February 28, 2020

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: March 10, 2022
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 31, 2022
• First Posted (Actual): April 1, 2022

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): April 1, 2022
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 31, 2022
• Last Verified: March 1, 2022

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Other Study ID Numbers: 249857

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No