Insufficient milk supply (IMS) is the most common reason for early weaning by breastfeeding women in the United States and worldwide. IMS is a major reason why the Surgeon General's goals for 1990 related to breastfeeding are not being met. The specific goals of this project are to: 1)Identify the defining characteristics of early IMS as a nursing diagnosis for mothers of term infants, 2)Prevent early, unintended weaning of infants by evaluating selected interventions designed to alleviate early IMS, and 3)Develop a prevention model which proposes the relationships among the etiology, defining characteristics and nursing intervention strategies of IMS. The project is proposed in three sequential phases: Phase I: An observational phase to define characteristics of early IMS in mothers of healthy term infants. Phase II: A randomized field trial to test nursing interventions designed to prevent early IMS from proceeding to late IMS or weaning in mothers of healthy term infants. Phase III: A causal modeling and theory building phase to explore the prevention of early IMS and to link practice level theory with middle range theories of nursing. The long term objective is to reduce the incidence of early weaning of breastfeeding infants through prevention of IMS.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01NR002297-02
Application #
3392225
Study Section
Nursing Research Study Section (NURS)
Project Start
1991-06-10
Project End
1994-05-31
Budget Start
1992-06-01
Budget End
1993-05-31
Support Year
2
Fiscal Year
1992
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Wyoming
Department
Type
Schools of Nursing
DUNS #
069690956
City
Laramie
State
WY
Country
United States
Zip Code
82071
Humenick, S S; Hill, P D; Thompson, J et al. (1998) Breast-milk sodium as a predictor of breastfeeding patterns. Can J Nurs Res 30:67-81
Hill, P D; Humenick, S S (1996) Development of the H & H Lactation Scale. Nurs Res 45:136-40
Hill, P D; Humenick, S S (1995) Comparison of subjects who fully versus minimally participated in a breast-feeding study. West J Nurs Res 17:328-34
Crowell, M K; Hill, P D; Humenick, S S (1994) Relationship between obstetric analgesia and time of effective breast feeding. J Nurse Midwifery 39:150-6
Humenick, S S; Hill, P D; Anderson, M A (1994) Breast engorgement: patterns and selected outcomes. J Hum Lact 10:87-93
Groer, M W; Humenick, S; Hill, P D (1994) Characterizations and psychoneuroimmunologic implications of secretory immunoglobulin A and cortisol in preterm and term breast milk. J Perinat Neonatal Nurs 7:42-51
Humenick, S S; Mederios, D; Wreschner, T B et al. (1994) The Maturation Index of Colostrum and Milk (MICAM): a measurement of breast milk maturation. J Nurs Meas 2:169-86