Timing Routines With Patience: A Focused Ethnography on Newborn Breastfeeding in Hospitals

ABSTRACT


Breastfeeding positively impacts the lifelong health of women and infants. The World Health Organization (WHO) aims to increase exclusive breastfeeding rates for the first six months from 44% to 70% by 2030, making breastfeeding support crucial. This study focuses on healthcare professionals (HCPs) in postnatal wards and examines the contextual and social dynamics of caring for families with breastfeeding intentions during the initial postpartum period.Inspired by Knoblauch, Cruz, and Higginbottom, a focused ethnographic study was conducted. Using participant observation and narrative interviews, we explored social and cultural dynamics. The data included detailed notes and quotations, analyzed thematically by means of Braun and Clarke.The fieldwork, conducted over three months in autumn 2023, included a total of 78 hours observation over 12 days and involved 20 HCPs in a hospital with 2,000 annual deliveries. After processing our data three subthemes was identified: “Routines and disruptions ‐ navigating the expected and unexpected”, “Patience in practice—access to breastfeeding support”, and “Busy times—timing brief meeting” providing breastfeeding support in high‐turnover postnatal ward. We integrated these three subthemes into a single theme: “Timing the routines with patience”. The results are discussed through Benner and Wrubel's theory of “The Primacy of Caring” emphasizing patience and routines in the breastfeeding context and examines the value of breastfeeding support.We found that the importance of healthcare professionals' availability and presence as key to compassionate encounters was defined through analysis with Benner and Wrubel's theory. Therefore, integrating patience and relational awareness into both training and routine design could be a part of improving breastfeeding support. Breastfeeding support as a caring for requires not only organizational structures and professional education, but also the capacity for bodily, relational care. The presence and bodily engagement of healthcare professionals leaves a lasting impression – not only on families, but also on the professionals themselves.