[Purpose] The purpose of this study is to clarify how breastfeeding mothers help each other and to examine issues surrounding informal peer support during breastfeeding. [Methods] The subjects were 147 mothers with infants aged one to 12 months, and a self-administered questionnaire was used. The questionnaire inquired about mothers’ desired feeding methods and the reality of their actual feeding methods and their satisfaction at two weeks, six months, and at the time of the questionnaire. The questionnaire also asked how many of the subjects’ friends with children offered instrumental, emotional, or informational support. [Results] Mothers’ network sizes varied greatly from individual to individual while emotional and informational support were found to be significantly more prevalent than instrumental support. Mothers with two or more children and those who had witnessed breastfeeding prior to attempting to breastfeed themselves had significantly more instrumental, emotional, and informational support. Mothers with friends who had gone through pregnancy had significantly more emotional and informational support. At two weeks, mothers who were satisfied with their method of nutritional delivery were found to have had significantly more physical support, and those who were not satisfied with their method of nutritional delivery for the one to five months had significantly more informational support. Mothers who were “breastfeeding with supplementary formula feeding” had significantly more informational support than those who were “exclusively breastfeeding” for the six to twelve months. [Conclusion] The results have made clear the characteristics of informal peer support among feeding mothers. Experts need to help mothers find opportunities to meet each other and develop the ability to assess information through peer support in addition to fostering the effective functioning of peer support systems.

View full abstract

[Background] To promote an integrated community care system, the Japanese government created a multifunctional long-term care service model called Kantaki in 2012, aiming to provide a combination of services such as short-stay, day-care, and home visit by aides and/or nurses to meet various client needs. However, it is unclear how well this model has been utilized and accessed throughout Japan. [Objective] This study aimed to understand the distribution status of Kantaki through a secondary analysis of information on its operations and population trends released by public institutions. [Methods] The study determined the number of Kantaki, Shotaki (a service that is similar to the Kantaki model except it does not provide home visit service by nurses), and visiting nurse stations from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare website registry. Population trend information was collected from the national census. Statistical processing included a correlation analysis using descriptive analysis and Spearman’s correlation coefficient. [Results] As of December 31, 2018, there were 479 Kantaki operations throughout Japan. The mean number of Kantaki operations by prefecture was 10.19 ± 10.51. Of the municipalities, 233 (13.5%) out of 1,724 had Kantaki operations available. The number of Shotaki (.765), number of visiting nurse stations (.747), population (.703), population density (.513), and the rate of aging (-.442) were found to have a significant correlation with the number of Kantaki operations present. [Discussion] The number of Kantaki operations showed a large variation across regions, with a higher prevalence in population-dense urban areas, and lower prevalence in regions with a high aging rate. This reveals the distribution model is unrelated to the elderly population, who can be potential clients, and must be affected by other reasons such as staffing issues and operating costs. To promote Kantaki throughout Japan, such operational issues should be analyzed further.

View full abstract