The Value of Listening to Grandmothers' Infant-Feeding Stories
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-1-2011
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine the usefulness of storytelling as a foundation for communicating with grandmothers about breastfeeding. The benefits of storytelling are applied to an analysis of infant-feeding stories that grandmothers told during a focus group study conducted by the authors. Thirty-five grandmothers participated in the study. A qualitative content analysis of the interview transcripts revealed that grandmothers' infant-feeding stories provided insights into the people (characters) and circumstances (setting) that affected their early experiences of infant feeding. By asking grandmothers to tell their stories, health-care professionals may understand the personal and cultural context grandmothers bring to their support of new mothers and facilitate a place for grandmothers' voices to be heard.
Publication Information
Grassley, Jane S. and Eschiti, Valerie. (2011). "The Value of Listening to Grandmothers' Infant-Feeding Stories". The Journal of Perinatal Education, 20(3), 134-141.