The benefits of breastfeeding to the health of infants and mothers have been well
documented.
1
A less quantifiable positive effect of breastfeeding is the increase in the mother's
self-esteem and confidence as a mother if she has successfully initiated breastfeeding.
2
This boost to self-esteem is particularly noticeable in the teen mom. A common characteristic
of teens who either consciously or unconsciously choose to become pregnant is a sense
of failure, of never having achieved something worthwhile. Pregnancy and childbirth
provides them with a sense of accomplishment, but they absolutely beam with pride
when they successfully initiate and persevere with breastfeeding their baby.To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
Purchase one-time access:
Academic & Personal: 24 hour online accessCorporate R&D Professionals: 24 hour online accessOne-time access price info
- For academic or personal research use, select 'Academic and Personal'
- For corporate R&D use, select 'Corporate R&D Professionals'
Subscribe:
Subscribe to Journal of Pediatric and Adolescent GynecologyAlready a print subscriber? Claim online access
Already an online subscriber? Sign in
Register: Create an account
Institutional Access: Sign in to ScienceDirect
References
- Medications and Mothers Milk.(10th ed.). Pharmasoft Publishing, Amarillo, Texas2002
- Health sequelae of breastfeeding for the mother.Clin Perinatol. 1999; 26: 491
- The breastfeeding experience of Canadian teenage mothers.J Obstet Gynecol Neonatal Nurs. 2005; 34: 615
- Breastfeeding rates in Baby-Friendly hospitals: results of a national survey.Pediatrics. 2005; 116: 628
- The breastfeeding self-efficacy scale: psychometric assessment of the short form.J Obstet Gynecol Neonatal Nurs. 2003; 32: 734
Nicoletti A, Grizzard T, Tonelli M, et al: Intensive postpartum lactation support for adolescent mothers, 2005, not yet submitted for publication.
Article info
Publication history
Section Editors: Angela Nicoletti, MS, RNC, WHNP, and Margaret Tonelli, MSN, NPBrigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Identification
Copyright
© 2006 North American Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
