Promoting Breastfeeding: A Qualitative and Data Science Approach to Better Understand Triple Feeding

Exclusive breastfeeding has been associated with numerous, well-documented health benefits for infants and mothers. While over 83% of newborns in the US receive at least some breastmilk, rates of exclusive and extended breastfeeding lag behind national goals. Two of the most commonly reported barriers to meeting 6 and 12 month breastfeeding recommendations are perceived low milk supply and inadequate infant weight gain. One protocol to address these issues is a practice known as “triple-feeding” in which mothers 1) feed the infant at the breast, 2) pump or hand express remaining breastmilk, and 3) feed the infant expressed milk or formula. Repeated 8 – 12 times per day, this protocol has been described in grey literature as exhausting, yet little evidence is available in scientific literature to assess its impact on mothers’ postpartum experience. Thus, using qualitative methods and natural language processing, this study aims to 1) explore mothers’ lived experience while triple feeding, 2) identify sources of information that influence triple feeding recommendations and implementation, and 3) examine messaging shared about triple feeding on social media. Study results may help providers better understand the context in which this protocol is being implemented and inform interventions to support mothers while triple feeding.