Abstract
Breastfeeding is considered to be the most intimate practice that a mother can provide for her child. However, in the United States many mothers do not meet the World Health Organization’s recommendation for breastfeeding past 6 months, and this is particularly prevalent in non-Caucasian mothers. In this qualitative study the researcher used a semi-structured design to interview 10 non-Caucasian mothers in the Northern California region and used thematic content analysis to explore the data using Bronfenbrenner’s bio-ecological model (Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 2007). This study found themes of challenges and rewards, support, work context, and culture were reoccurring in the mother’s experiences and interactions while breastfeeding. The results found that the bio-ecological model could help explain how contexts can influence non-Caucasian mothers’ support during breastfeeding. Overall, the findings show that non-Caucasian mothers find more support within their microsystems, rather than in their mesosystems or macrosystems in the U.S.