Medical genogram legend professional#

For example, mothers who were themselves breastfed are more likely to intend to, and continue to, breastfeed for longer after the birth compared to mothers who were not breastfed. The importance of the family context and, in particular, the role of the maternal grandmother’s feeding choice, is reflected in infant feeding statistics. A congruent social and family network appears to be significant, with support from female relatives, particularly the maternal grandmother, identified as most important and the key source of attitudinal and behavioural norms.

Medical genogram legend professional#

A recent study suggested that for some women, family experiences and stories are as valid as, or more valid than, professional advice and research evidence. Most breastfeeding mothers consider social and family support to be important, often more so than health service support. A range of social and cultural factors also influence infant feeding choices, including women’s family and social contexts.

However, these do not fully account for differences in breastfeeding. There are a number of socio-demographic influences on breastfeeding such as maternal age and education with marital and socio-economic status being highly influential. While these benefits are well recognised and understood by women, the quinquennial infant feeding survey identified that only 24 % of women in the UK (22 % in Scotland) were exclusively breastfeeding at 6 weeks with less than 1 % of women across the UK exclusively breastfeeding at 6 months. This underpins the recommendation of exclusive breastfeeding (breast milk only with no other food, milk or drinks) for the first 6 months of life. The benefits of breastfeeding are well established with health advantages for both baby and mother. However, its successful application in other clinical contexts, combined with the interest in genealogy in popular culture, mean this is likely to be an acceptable, family friendly way to develop more effective breastfeeding conversations. The effectiveness and acceptability of the Infant Feeding Genogram requires testing in the clinical environment. The infant feeding genogram is proposed as a time efficient tool that could assist health professionals and other breastfeeding workers to support women and their families and by stimulating discussion around breastfeeding, Bby identifying strengths or possible deficits in social support for each individual, the tool could inform tailored support and care interventions. In the research setting it assisted women to explore their infant feeding history, identify challenges and sources of support and build rapport with the interviewer. The genogram showed family structures, patterns of infant feeding over time, and supportive or conflicting relationships. The utility of the genogram is illustrated through two contrasting case examples with very different family feeding histories. The tool was adapted alongside their narratives to give a visual representation of each participant’s family infant feeding history. Fourteen Scottish participants completed their Infant Feeding Genogram as part of a semi-structured interview.

This tool was developed as part of a study investigating the experience of women when they were the first to breastfeed in their family. The Infant Feeding Genogram was adapted from a simple pictorial device that is widely used in psychotherapy and genetic counselling. Given the importance of family infant feeding history in the initiation and duration of breastfeeding, and the limited ability of some families to provide support it is unclear why infant feeding family history and support networks are not explored during pregnancy. This is reflected in breastfeeding rates where women who were not breastfed themselves are less likely to initiate and continue with breastfeeding. This includes infant feeding decisions where a family history and support network congruent with women’s infant feeding intentions has been shown to be important to women’s breastfeeding experience. Family culture and beliefs are passed through the generations within families and influence what constitutes appropriate infant care.