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Abstract: Midwives and childbirth educators are well placed to identify issues and contribute to positive change regarding antenatal breastfeeding education for women. "Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA)", is an accessible research method that can be conducted by many different health care professionals to explore practice challenges and the needs of women, in order to gain data to support change in practice. This article provides a background to IPA, an example of its application in midwifery research, and outlines a series of steps on how to conduct an IPA study. When antenatal breastfeeding education reflects the needs and issues of the women in the local practice setting, the potential to positively influence women's breastfeeding journeys, including extending the duration of exclusive breastfeeding, can be enhanced.
Keywords: Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), midwifery, women-centred care, breastfeeding education, qualitative research
Background
Breastfeeding has been cited as one of the most costeffective, health promotion and disease-prevention strategies of the 21st century (Varaei, Mehrdad & Bahrani, 2009). Given the significant benefits of breastfeeding for the infant, mother and community (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2012), the World Health Organization (WHO) (WHO & UNICEF, 2003) recommends that women exclusively breastfeed their babies for the first six months of life. Despite a large amount of Australian government funding directed towards public health campaigns to improve breastfeeding rates (Australian Health Ministers' Conference, 2009), Australia currently has one of the lowest six month exclusive breastfeeding rates in the developed world (14%), (see Figure 1) (AIFS, 2008). Interestingly, the U.S. has an almost identical rate of exclusive breastfeeding at six months (13.8%) (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2014).
Breastfeeding Education in Australia
In Australia, breastfeeding education occurs during antenatal appointments, antenatal breastfeeding education classes, and in the early postnatal period (Pairman & McAraCouper, 2010). Most mother infant dyad follow-up in the postnatal period concludes by six weeks, and after that time, no standardized care plans are in place. Statistics reveal that by two months, 62% of Australian women are exclusively breastfeeding, however as previously mentioned, only 14% are exclusively breastfeeding at six months (AIFS, 2008). With the majority of Australian women not achieving the WHO's recommendation of exclusive breastfeeding for six months, it is important to explore both the content in current breastfeeding education and also...