Breastfeeding experiences from the perspective of the breastfeeding woman: qualitative study

Objectives: To understand the breastfeeding experience from the perspective of a group of women who breastfeed for the first time.

Materials and methods: Qualitative study from an ethnographic perspective, focusing on a group of women from the eastern region of the Department of Antioquia (Colombia). Intentional sampling until data saturation was used. The group included 16 first-time breastfeeding mothers aged 18 or older, with children under 24 months of age and who were breastfeeding or had breastfed exclusively for at least three months. Semi-structured interviews and participant observations were carried out. Data were analyzed by triangulation and open and axial coding. The results are presented in the form of category descriptions.

Results: Four categories were identified in relation to the breastfeeding experience: exhaustion and pain dispelled by love, breastfeeding and the new order of things, emotions of a woman embodied in a mother, and breastfeeding as a social act.

Conclusions: Protection of breastfeeding requires special attention to the woman as a subject beyond the act of breastfeeding, giving priority to her physical and emotional health as essential elements that must be kept in mind by healthcare professionals. Studies to assess the effects of creating support groups that foster the exchange of insights to help the breastfeeding woman are required.