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Updated: May 11, 2026

A Common Marmoset Model of Mother-Infant Intervention for Breastfeeding Disorders in the Presence of Paternal Inhibition and Maternal Neglect
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A Common Marmoset Model of Mother-Infant Intervention for Breastfeeding Disorders in the Presence of Paternal Inhibition and Maternal Neglect

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Exploring the process of women's infant feeding decisions in the early postbirth period

Athena Sheehan1, Virginia Schmied, Lesley Barclay

  • 1Avondale College of Higher Education, Wahroonga, New South Wales, Australia. athena.sheehan@uts.edu.au

Qualitative Health Research
|May 11, 2013
PubMed

Research indicates that multiple factors are associated with decisions women make about infant feeding, yet few studies have explored the decision-making process. In this article, we present the analysis that produced the core category "deconstructing best," previously reported as part of a grounded theory exploring 37 Australian women's infant feeding experiences and decisions in the first 6 weeks postbirth. We expand on the previous article by detailing and discussing the phases of the infant feeding decision-making process in relation to decision-making theory. Analysis demonstrates the importance of these early weeks in shaping women's infant feeding trajectories. Findings illustrate that information gathering encompassing multiple factors occurred at this time, and that complex and often competing goals were involved in the women's decisions. We suggest that acknowledging and assisting women to meet alternate goals in the postbirth period might help them meet their breastfeeding goals.

Keywords:
breastfeedingdecision makinggrounded theoryinterviewsmothers, mothering

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