Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons^™

A Collective Metamorphosis Of Breastfeeding Mothers: A Phenomenological Exploration Of A Face-To-Face Healthcare Provider Facilitated Peer Support Group, Emily Alexandria Tucker

Doctoral Dissertations

This research study used phenomenology to examine a face-to-face healthcare facilitated breastfeeding support group. Participant observations and phenomenology were used to address the following research questions: 1) what are the lived experiences of the women participating a breastfeeding support group, 2) how does the group influence their lived experiences, and 3) what were the common experiences of these women? The support group participants were observed while the researcher acted as a participant observer over the course of an eleven-month period. There were a total of seven women interviewed about their lived experiences breastfeeding and attending the support group. Data from …

What Matters Most? An Examination Of Breastfeeding Support For African American Mothers, Kanika Littleton

Wayne State University Theses

Breastfeeding offers numerous health benefits to the mother, infant, and society. In the United States breastfeeding initiation rates have increased, but continue to fall short of objectives set forth by the CDC in the Healthy People 2020 initiative, regarding duration and exclusivity. African Americans have lower rates of breastfeeding initiation, duration, and exclusivity than any other racial or ethnic group in the United States (USDHHS, 2012).

The purpose of this study was to examine the breastfeeding experiences of a diverse group of African American women, in order to better understand what social networks encouraged or discouraged breastfeeding initiation, continuation, and …

Sociosexuality, Mate Preferences, And Sex Steroid Hormone Levels Among Breastfeeding Women In Manila, Michelle Escasa

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This project investigates the influence of lactation on female sociosexuality and mate preferences in urban Manila, a population with long-term breastfeeding, low contraceptive use, and quick return to ovulatory cycling. Physiological and evolutionary considerations suggest that lactating women face important life history allocation trade-offs between mating and parenting effort that may be manifest in their sociosexual behavior and mate preferences. Breastfeeding (n=155) and control (n=105) women were recruited to provide a saliva sample (for testosterone and estradiol analyses), complete a questionnaire, and complete a face and voice preference task to determine preferences for masculinity. Breastfeeding women reported differences in commitment …

The Contradictory Nature Of Natural Mothering: A Discursive Analysis, Britni Lee Ayers

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In our contemporary sociopolitical rhetoric breastfeeding is something that is natural and something women ought to do because breast is best. The problem with this contemporary discourse of breastfeeding and motherhood is that the dominant medical, political, technological, and patriarchal discourses surrounding breastfeeding have merged to create an highly unattainable definition of what it means to be a "good mother" (Blum 1993). Moreover, upon a close examination, the most pressing political and Social debates of today surrounding the welfare reform, women's employment, reproductive technologies, and abortion, among many others, construct distinctions between "good mothers" and "bad mothers." However, there has …