Women׳s intention to exclusively breast feed: The Israeli perspective.

BACKGROUND: research reveals that there are numerous factors related to women׳s intention to exclusively breast feed (EBF). Moreover, several studies do not differentiate between exclusive and partial breast feeding.

OBJECTIVE: the aim of the present study was to identify factors associated with Israeli women׳s intention to EBF their next baby based on the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), within the context of Israeli ethnic and cultural diversity.

DESIGN: the study is a correlational quantitative study.

SETTING: women were recruited at lectures on women׳s health at an urban setting in central Israel during September-December 2013. The lectures were organised by a local nursing school and were open for the general public.

PARTICIPANTS: a convenience sample of 200 Hebrew-speaking women of childbearing age, who had at least one child over six months old which had been EBF for at least one month.

METHODS: the women completed a closed questionnaire based on the TPB.

FINDINGS: in the multivariate analysis, behavioural beliefs, behavioural attitudes, knowledge of EBF, and EBF duration of the previous child predicted 35.3% of Israeli women׳s intentions to EBF in the future. In addition, study findings revealed the importance that women attributed to their spouses׳ opinion concerning EBF. Muslim Arab women expressed higher intention to EBF than Jewish women.

CONCLUSIONS: the findings of this study will constitute the basis of a nurse-administered intervention programme for promoting EBF in Israeli society. In the context of this programme, nurses' interventions will emphasise the benefits of EBF for mothers and infants, and provide women and their spouses with tools and information to support EBF. Nurses' interventions will also take into account the influence of ethnicity and culture, as well as the duration of women's previous EBF experiences.