Triangular Interaction of Decision Making for Breastfeeding a New Infant-Centered Care Model

Abstract

To date, breastfeeding baby in hospitals is still a serious issue. The present study is aimed to investigate
nurse-mother interaction in making decision on whether to breastfeed baby with low birth weight in a
hospital. This qualitative study administered the grounded theory approach. For data collection, focus group
discussion was implemented. Informants were selected with purposive sampling technique from three
hospitals located in East Java Province, Indonesia. The validity test was satisfied with triangulation on
sources, method and setting. New findings obtained from the study were classified into four categories,
such as interaction, decision making, support and obstacles. The four categories form a triangle-shaped
model of interaction. The first interaction is between nurse and spouse/family. The second one is between
spouse/family with the mother. The third interaction is between mother and nurse. Support and obstacles
may happen in every interaction. Decision making of breastfeeding mediated by the triangular interaction
indicates that care is centered on infant. Nurses can improve the decision making quality of breastfeeding by
minimizing obstacles and optimizing support in every flow of interaction.