A Pilot Breastfeeding-Supportive Texting Program for African American and Black Mothers
Lydia Furman1,2, Sarah McAleer1,3, Lasheena Brooks1,3
1University Hospitals Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital, Cleveland, Ohio, USA.
Summary
A new text messaging program supports African American or Black (AA/B) mothers with breastfeeding. The program is feasible, acceptable, and relevant for improving maternal and child health outcomes.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Mobile Health (mHealth)
- Maternal and Child Health
Background:
- Exclusive breastfeeding is recommended for six months, yet only 19.8% of African American or Black (AA/B) mothers achieved this in 2020.
- Barriers related to racism limit AA/B women's access to breastfeeding resources.
- Few mobile health applications are specifically designed for AA/B women.
Purpose of the Study:
- To create and test a culturally sensitive breastfeeding promotion and support text message library for AA/B mothers.
- To evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and perceived usefulness of the text messaging program.
Main Methods:
- Developed a culturally sensitive text message library from 28 weeks gestation through 10 weeks postpartum.
- Conducted a proof-of-concept (POC) trial with 20 AA/B women to assess feasibility and acceptability.
- Performed a pilot study with 28 AA/B women to evaluate content and perceived usefulness.
Main Results:
- POC trial: 95% of participants received all messages (feasibility); none requested fewer or to stop messages (acceptability).
- Pilot study: Over 85% responded positively about message quantity, helpfulness, and information relevance.
- Over 70% of participants in both trials found the information highly relevant, understandable, novel, and beneficial for child health.
Conclusions:
- A novel text messaging program tailored for AA/B mothers demonstrates feasibility, acceptability, and relevance for breastfeeding support.
- This program represents a unique, culturally sensitive mobile health intervention for AA/B mothers.
- The findings suggest potential for improving breastfeeding rates and maternal-child health outcomes in this population.
Keywords:
Black or African Americanbreastfeedingmobile applicationsracial disparityracismtext messagingMore Related Videos
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