Date of Conferral

2023

Degree

Doctor of Public Health (DrPH)

School

Public Health

Advisor

Manoj Sharma

Abstract

There is a growing obesity pandemic in the United States. Low breastfeeding duration rates and socioecological factors lead to obesity in the most southern states. Overweight and obese breastfeeding mothers have not been primarily studied. There is mixed information regarding duration of breastfeeding, BMI, and heart health, as well as a lack of quantitative analyses involving reducing obesity rates in mother-child dyads. The purpose of this quantitative cross-sectional study was to investigate whether there were any associations between breastfeeding duration and BMI, heart health problems, breastfeeding support, and eating and exercise among Mississippi overweight and obese postpartum women based on the CDC’s Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System survey. The socioecological model was used to explore how influence may be applied to support women with their breastfeeding goals while achieving optimal health for them and their nursing children. Each research question was addressed separately using crosstabulation and chi-square tests with SPSS version 28. The total sample size of respondents was 1,012. However, only 46.0% of women responded to the survey question regarding breastfeeding duration. Given that, there were no significant associations between breastfeeding duration and health indicators for BMI (p = 0.984) and participation in breastfeeding support groups (p = 0.512). Findings contribute to positive social change for mothers and offer additional insight for both practitioners and researchers on the need to identify and develop interventions that support breastfeeding mothers towards better health and nourishment for their child(ren).

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