Social norms effecting first-time mothers intention of infant feeding

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of the current study is to focus on the first-time mothers in their late gestation to reveal the social norms that influence their intention to feed their infants. Methods In order to make clear of the variations of social norms that influence the intention of first-time mothers in regard to feeding their infants, the study is conducted with a qualitative and descriptive analysis in mind, where 17 first-time mothers in their late gestation whose pregnancies were normal and who were visiting one particular maternal perinatal medical center in Tokyo were each given a semi-structured interview, with qualitative analysis conducted using the data obtained. Results The study subjects all revealed their intention to breastfeed, though with different feelings by indicating either "I absolutely want to breastfeed my child," "Between 'I absolutely want to breastfeed my child' and 'I want to breastfeed my child if possible'" and "I want to breastfeed my child if possible." In terms of the social norms that influence first-time mothers in their willingness to breastfeed, there were 6 options for the subjects to chose from: "Inclination toward 'natural ways,'" "Be the socially expected 'mother,'" "Be a responsible 'mother,'" "Be a wise, self-protective 'mother,'" 'Advocate the adequacy of milk-giving and being a 'mother,'" "Have the socially expected environment and knowledge required of a 'mother.'" Conclusion The social norms that influence the intention of first-time mothers to feed their infants shown in this study indicated that, while social norms stipulate the motherhood ideology and the image of a socially expected "mother" who should be responsible for protecting her children's "health," many first-time mothers had their own social norms or set of values to respond to their anxiety of failing to breastfeed and childrearing stress, as well as to justify their actions in avoiding to be recognized as deviating from their "mother" role.