Abstract:
Breastfeeding is a form of life sustaining work that only women can perform. It is
learning and doing that exist within the lifeworld. Much of the work done by women in the
homeplace and in their roles as mothers is valuable sustenance labor performed in society.
Yet, like other work performed by marginalized people it is often undervalued by those
who control the systems in power (Hart, 1992). The knowledge, the language and the
understanding women need to help create a successful breastfeeding experience has, in
some cases been buried (Dettwyler, 1995; Palmer, 1988). Despite these obstacles there are
many mothers who develop methods to breastfeed their children.
After years of decline, current statistics boast an increase in the numbers of women
who choose to breastfeed in Nova Scotia. While the numbers are still lower in the Cape
Breton region there has been a significant increase since 1979. An increased understanding
of the value of breastfeeding and the technique required to breastfeed most certainly has
influenced the decision of many women to breastfeed. However, a mother’s success is
influenced by a myriad of factors.
For women who choose to breastfeed, learning the practice of breastfeeding can be a significant adult learning experience. The purpose of this thesis is to explore the adult
learning experiences of women living in Industrial Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. The focus is
twofold. First, adult learning strategies women used to inform themselves about
breastfeeding as an infant feeding choice are determined and, second, how these strategies
impact the success of their breastfeeding experience is explored.
Focus group interviews were selected as the best method of data collection for this
particular study. They allow for a substantial amount of data to be collected while also
creating a group setting where women could share their stories with other women.
Two focus groups of four women from Industrial Cape Breton were conducted.
The participants were white, middle to upper-middle income women with varying levels of
post-secondary education. Based on the data generated by the women in the study, a
breastfeeding adult learning model was developed. It shows the adult learning appeared to
progress along a chronological continuum that began when the women first contemplated
breastfeeding as an infant- feeding choice and continued often past the weaning stage.
There emerged three distinct phases along this continuum: 1) the initiation phase, 2) the
lived experience phase, and 3) the retrospection phase. Throughout each phase the women
appear to utilize a number of learning approaches which involve knowing, feeling, doing
and retrospection, enabling them to learn how to breastfeed and how to tackle the
obstacles that they face throughout the process.