TY - JOUR
T1 - Perception and emotional experiences of infant feeding among women living with HIV in a high-income setting
T2 - A longitudinal mixed methods study
AU - Ellen, Moseholm
AU - D, Fetters Michael
AU - Inka, Aho
AU - Åsa, Mellgren
AU - S, Johansen Isik
AU - L, Katzenstein Terese
AU - Gitte, Pedersen
AU - Merete, Storgaard
AU - Nina, Weis
N1 - Copyright © 2023 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.
PY - 2024/1/1
Y1 - 2024/1/1
N2 - BACKGROUND: The recommendation of breastfeeding avoidance for women living with HIV in high-income settings may be influenced by cultural beliefs and come at an emotional cost. This multicenter, longitudinal, convergent mixed methods study aimed to compare differences in attitudes, concerns, and experiences surrounding breastfeeding in women living with HIV of Nordic and non-Nordic origin.SETTING: High-income setting.METHODS: Pregnant women living with HIV in the Nordic countries Denmark, Finland, and Sweden were recruited in 2019-2020. Quantitative data on attitudes surrounding infant feeding were assessed using the Positive Attitudes Concerning Infant Feeding questionnaire completed in the third trimester (T1), and 3 (T2) and 6 (T3) months postpartum. Women who completed the survey were also invited to participate in semistructured interviews at T1 and T3. The findings from the quantitative survey and qualitative interviews were brought together through merging to assess for concordance, complementarity, expansion, or discordance between the data sets and to draw metainferences.RESULTS: In total, 44 women completed the survey, of whom 31 also participated in qualitative interviews. The merged analyses identified three overarching domains representing commonalities across the quantitative and qualitative data: emotional impact, justifying not breastfeeding, and coping strategies. Not being able to breastfeed was emotionally challenging. Cultural expectations influenced the women's experiences and the strategies they used to justify their infant feeding choice.CONCLUSIONS: For women living with HIV in Nordic countries not breastfeeding was a complex, multilayered process substantially influenced by social and cultural expectations.
AB - BACKGROUND: The recommendation of breastfeeding avoidance for women living with HIV in high-income settings may be influenced by cultural beliefs and come at an emotional cost. This multicenter, longitudinal, convergent mixed methods study aimed to compare differences in attitudes, concerns, and experiences surrounding breastfeeding in women living with HIV of Nordic and non-Nordic origin.SETTING: High-income setting.METHODS: Pregnant women living with HIV in the Nordic countries Denmark, Finland, and Sweden were recruited in 2019-2020. Quantitative data on attitudes surrounding infant feeding were assessed using the Positive Attitudes Concerning Infant Feeding questionnaire completed in the third trimester (T1), and 3 (T2) and 6 (T3) months postpartum. Women who completed the survey were also invited to participate in semistructured interviews at T1 and T3. The findings from the quantitative survey and qualitative interviews were brought together through merging to assess for concordance, complementarity, expansion, or discordance between the data sets and to draw metainferences.RESULTS: In total, 44 women completed the survey, of whom 31 also participated in qualitative interviews. The merged analyses identified three overarching domains representing commonalities across the quantitative and qualitative data: emotional impact, justifying not breastfeeding, and coping strategies. Not being able to breastfeed was emotionally challenging. Cultural expectations influenced the women's experiences and the strategies they used to justify their infant feeding choice.CONCLUSIONS: For women living with HIV in Nordic countries not breastfeeding was a complex, multilayered process substantially influenced by social and cultural expectations.
KW - Breast Feeding/psychology
KW - Female
KW - HIV Infections/psychology
KW - Humans
KW - Infant
KW - Mothers/psychology
KW - Perception
KW - Postpartum Period
KW - Pregnancy
KW - Pregnant Women
KW - women living with HIV
KW - longitudinal mixed methods study
KW - Nordic setting
KW - infant feeding
KW - breastfeeding
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85179008508&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1097/QAI.0000000000003314
DO - 10.1097/QAI.0000000000003314
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 37797230
SN - 1525-4135
VL - 95
SP - 52
EP - 64
JO - Journal of acquired immune deficiency syndromes (1999)
JF - Journal of acquired immune deficiency syndromes (1999)
IS - 1
ER -