Table 3.
Descriptive experiences of formula feeding mothers by overall sample, feeding type, and feeding intention
| Formula feeding experience | Overall N (%) | Feeding type N (%) | p‐value** | Feeding intention N (%) | p‐value** | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EBF now EFF | EFF | Combi | I‐EBF | I‐EFF | I‐combi | ||||
| Guilty about choice of feeding method | 601 | 274 | 152 | 175 | 338 | 103 | 160 | ||
| No | 197 (33) | 57 (21) | 83 (55) | 57 (33) | <.001 | 71 (21) | 68 (66) | 58 (36) | <.001 |
| Yes | 404 (67) | 217 (79) | 69 (45) | 118 (67) | 267 (79) | 35 (34) | 102 (64) | ||
| Source of guilt | 404 | 217 | 69 | 118 | 267 | 35 | 102 | ||
| Internal | 121 (30) | 66 (30) | 17 (25) | 38 (32) | .264 | 91 (34) | 9 (26) | 21 (21) | .001 |
| External | 50 (12) | 24 (11) | 14 (21) | 12 (10) | 23 (9) | 10 (29) | 17 (17) | ||
| Both | 223 (55) | 127 (59) | 38 (55) | 68 (58) | 153 (57) | 16 (46) | 64 (63) | ||
| Source of guilt*, † | 273 | 151 | 52 | 80 | 176 | 26 | 81 | ||
| Media | 130 (48) | 74 (49) | 22 (42) | 34 (43) | 91 (52) | 12 (46) | 27 (33) | ||
| Health professionals | 176 (64) | 96 (64) | 33 (63) | 47 (59) | 114 (65) | 16 (62) | 46 (57) | ||
| Family members | 94 (34) | 49 (32) | 9 (17) | 36 (45) | 65 (40) | 4 (15) | 25 (31) | ||
| Other mothers | 186 (68) | 106 (70) | 32 (62) | 48 (60) | 120 (68) | 12 (46) | 54 (67) | ||
| Internet | 177 (64) | 106 (70) | 35 (67) | 46 (58) | 113(64) | 15 (58) | 49 (60) | ||
| Stigmatized about choice of feeding method | 601 | 274 | 152 | 175 | 338 | 103 | 160 | ||
| No | 191 (32) | 81 (30) | 39 (26) | 71 (41) | .009 | 118 (35) | 28 (27) | 45 (28) | .172 |
| Yes | 410 (68) | 193 (70) | 113 (74) | 104 (59) | 220 (65) | 75 (73) | 115 (72) | ||
| Source of stigma*, ♯ | 410 | 193 | 113 | 104 | 220 | 75 | 115 | ||
| Media | 180 (44) | 91 (47) | 42 (37) | 47 (45) | 105 (48) | 30 (40) | 45 (39) | ||
| Health professionals | 244 (59) | 113 (59) | 74 (65) | 57 (55) | 125 (57) | 52 (69) | 67 (58) | ||
| Family members | 117 (29) | 56 (29) | 18 (16) | 43 (41) | 74 (34) | 11 (15) | 32 (28) | ||
| Other mothers | 255 (62) | 138 (72) | 59 (52) | 58 (56) | 144 (65) | 33 (44) | 78 (68) | ||
| Internet | 229 (56) | 115 (60) | 63 (56) | 51 (49) | 122 (55) | 48 (64) | 59 (51) | ||
| Need to defend choice of feeding method | 601 | 274 | 152 | 175 | 338 | 103 | 160 | ||
| No | 144 (24) | 51 (19) | 38 (25) | 55 (31) | .008 | 82 (24) | 31 (30) | 31 (19) | .136 |
| Yes | 457 (76) | 223 (81) | 114 (75) | 120 (69) | 256 (76) | 72 (70) | 129 (81) | ||
| Source of defense*, ♯ | 457 | 223 | 114 | 120 | 256 | 72 | 129 | ||
| Media | 62 (13) | 34 | 15 (13) | 13 (11) | 37 (14) | 10 (14) | 15 (12) | ||
| Health professionals | 265 (58) | 123 (55) | 76 (67) | 66 (55) | 140 (55) | 49 (68) | 76 (59) | ||
| Family members | 181 (40) | 92 (41) | 30 (26) | 59 (49) | 113 (44) | 16 (22) | 52 (40) | ||
| Other mothers | 314 (69) | 162 (73) | 72 (63) | 80 (67) | 174 (68) | 42 (58) | 98 (76) | ||
| Internet | 197 (43) | 107 (48) | 54 (47) | 36 (30) | 108 (42) | 39 (54) | 50 (34) | ||
| Internal defense | 222 (49) | 123 (30) | 34 (30) | 65 (54) | 160 (63) | 14 (19) | 48 (37) | ||
| Source of infant feeding information | 601 | 274 | 152 | 175 | 338 | 103 | 160 | ||
| Media | 3 (<1) | 2 (<1) | 0 | 1 (<1) | 1 (<1) | 0 | 2 (1) | ||
| Health professionals | 135 (23) | 60 (22) | 21 (14) | 54 (31) | <.001 | 91 (27) | 16 (16) | 28 (18) | <.001 |
| Family members | 77 (13) | 26 (10) | 35 (23) | 16 (9) | 33 (10) | 21 (20) | 23 (14) | ||
| Other mothers | 66 (11) | 27 (10) | 17 (11) | 22 (13) | 36 (11) | 12 (12) | 18 (11) | ||
| Internet | 187 (31) | 99 (36) | 36 (24) | 52 (30) | 123 (36) | 18 (18) | 46 (29) | ||
| Own accord/previous experiences | 133 (22) | 60 (22) | 43 (28) | 30 (17) | 54 (16) | 36 (35) | 43 (27) | ||
| Level of support from health professionals | 601 | 274 | 152 | 175 | 338 | 103 | 160 | ||
| Not supported at all | 44 (7) | 22 (7) | 14 (9) | 10 (6) | .548 | 26 (8) | 7 (7) | 11 (7) | .340 |
| Minimally supported | 125 (21) | 58 (21) | 31 (20) | 36 (21) | 78 (23) | 17 (17) | 30 (19) | ||
| Moderately supported | 216 (36) | 91 (33) | 61 (40) | 64 (37) | 113 (33) | 48 (47) | 55 (34) | ||
| Very supported | 135 (23) | 71 (26) | 26(17) | 38 (22) | 79 (23) | 17 (17) | 39 (24) | ||
| Extremely supported | 81 (13) | 34 (12) | 20 (13) | 27 (15) | 42 (12) | 14 (14) | 25 (16) | ||
| Satisfaction with feeding method | 601 | 274 | 152 | 175 | 338 | 103 | 160 | ||
| Very dissatisfied | 37 (6) | 15 (6) | 3 (2) | 19 (11) | <.001 | 33 (10) | 2 (2) | 2 (1) | <.001 |
| Dissatisfied | 68 (11) | 39 (14) | 6 (4) | 23 (13) | 58 (17) | 0 | 10 (6) | ||
| Neutral | 89 (15) | 43 (16) | 9 (6) | 37 (21) | 63 (19) | 6 (6) | 20 (13) | ||
| Satisfied | 153 (25) | 88 (32) | 27 (18) | 38 (22) | 95 (28) | 13 (13) | 45 (28) | ||
| Very Satisfied | 254 (42) | 89 (33) | 107 (70) | 58 (33) | 89 (26) | 82 (80) | 83 (52) | ||
| Respect in everyday environment | 601 | 274 | 152 | 175 | 338 | 103 | 160 | ||
| Very disrespectful | 21 (3) | 6 (2) | 10 (7) | 5 (3) | 0.003 | 7 (2) | 8 (8) | 6 (4) | .004 |
| Disrespectful | 69 (11) | 35 (13) | 11 (7) | 23 (13) | 48 (14) | 9 (9) | 12 (8) | ||
| Neutral | 142 (24) | 72 (26) | 26 (17) | 44 (25) | 92 (27) | 18 (18) | 32 (20) | ||
| Respectful | 215 (36) | 107 (39) | 51 (34) | 57 (33) | 115 (34) | 34 (33) | 66 (41) | ||
| Very respectful | 154 (26) | 54 (20) | 54 (36) | 46 (26) | 76 (23) | 34 (33) | 44 (28) | ||
Note. EBF = exclusive breastfeeding; EFF = exclusive formula feeding; combi = combination feeding (all types); I‐EBF = exclusive breastfeeding intention; I‐EFF = exclusive formula feeding intentions; I‐combi = combination feeding intention (all types).
*
Participants could select more than one answer.
**
Bivariate differences in experience ascertained by one‐way analysis of variance and χ2 tests.
†
Percentages are calculated from participants who answered “External” and “Both” in the reference question.
♯
Percentages are calculated from participants who answered “yes” in the reference question.
P‐value refers to the difference between all the options presented.