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Infant feeding among women with a history of breast cancer

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Abstract

Purpose

Health professional organizations recommend exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months, but there are mothers, such as those with a history of breast cancer, who are unable to exclusively provide their milk for their infants. Minimal research has been published on mothers’ experience with lactation, breastfeeding, and bottle-feeding after breast cancer. This study explored mothers’ perspectives of infant feeding after a history of breast cancer.

Methods

Qualitative interviews were completed with 20 mothers who had experience with infant feeding after breast cancer, including exclusive breastfeeding, partial provision of human milk with formula supplementation, and exclusive formula feeding.

Results

Mothers shared their perceptions, barriers, and experiences of infant feeding. Four themes were identified: miracle of motherhood after breast cancer, medical misinformation or no available information contributing to the exacerbation of mothers’ worries, post-breast-cancer feeding challenges, and desire for infant-feeding support rather than pressure.

Conclusions

Mothers who have had breast cancer and have since given birth face specific challenges to infant feeding which are compounded by limited resources and knowledge among healthcare providers. Findings of the study highlight the importance of healthcare professionals becoming more educated to provide adequate support and evidence-based information on lactation and infant feeding for women with a history of breast cancer.

Implications for Cancer Survivors

Understanding the experiences of women who have given birth after breast cancer can help women in similar situations know that they are not alone, identify resources, access peer support, and seek evidence-based infant feeding advice from healthcare providers involved in their care.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank the mothers who participated in the study and shared their experiences.

Funding

IC received funding from Ohio University to conduct the study.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Nursing, College of Health Sciences and Professions, Ohio University, Athens, OH, 45701, USA

    Ilana R. Azulay Chertok

  2. Department of Social Medicine, Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, Ohio University, Athens, OH, 45701, USA

    Jacqueline H. Wolf

  3. Community Programming, Jewish Community Center of Greater Columbus Coordinator, Sharsheret Partnership, Columbus, OH, USA

    Shana Beigelman

  4. Cancer Program for Young Women; Division of Medical Oncology, Sunnybrook Odette Cancer Centre, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

    Ellen Warner

Authors
  1. Ilana R. Azulay Chertok
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  2. Jacqueline H. Wolf
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  3. Shana Beigelman
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  4. Ellen Warner
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ilana R. Azulay Chertok.

Ethics declarations

Ethical standards

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Conflict of interest

Author IC declares that she has no conflict of interest. Author JW declares that she has no conflict of interest. Author SB declares that she has no conflict of interest. Author EW declares that she has no conflict of interest.

Informed consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Azulay Chertok, I.R., Wolf, J.H., Beigelman, S. et al. Infant feeding among women with a history of breast cancer. J Cancer Surviv 14, 356–362 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11764-019-00852-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11764-019-00852-z

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