Presenting author: Julia Kim

Co-author: Sharon M. Donovan

Division of Nutritional Sciences

Introduction: Breastfeeding has been shown to moderately protect against childhood obesity. African-American, adolescent mothers are less likely to breastfeed compared to adolescent mothers of other ethnicities. However, breastfeeding curricula tailored to educate this population is scarce in the literature. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to develop a breastfeeding curriculum to promote breastfeeding awareness among African-American, adolescent mothers. Methods: Community-based participatory research approach was used to develop a culturally appropriate curriculum. A breastfeeding team that consisted of three members from the local organization that supports adolescent mothers met biweekly from June 2016 to April 2017 to plan and practice activities for each workshop. An expert panel (n=9) in the field of breastfeeding, curriculum development, teaching, and working with African-American, adolescent mothers ranked whether each activity had clear instructions, was easy and feasible for high school students, met the objectives of the workshop, and was culturally appropriate for African-American, adolescent mothers. Activities that were difficult to implement and were not culturally appropriate were omitted and replaced with activities suggested by the breastfeeding team and expert panel. Results: The revised curriculum consists of three 45-minute lesson plans: (a) SMART Matters, (b) Breastfeeding Matters, and (c) You Matter. The “SMART Matters” workshop focuses on creating goals using “Storytelling with Scrapbooking” as the main activity. The “Breastfeeding Matters” consists of discussions of two breastfeeding videos, and a “Kiss the Balloon” activity to learn how to latch. Finally, the “You Matter” workshop includes a personality test, identifying sources and ways to cope with stress, especially as a breastfeeding mother, and stretches as a way to reduce stress. Conclusion: The HAPPY curriculum is currently being tested for effectiveness in changes in breastfeeding predictors (i.e., knowledge, attitudes, subjective norm, self-efficacy and intention) from April to June 2017 with a local non-profit organization that supports teen parents. Funding source: This material is based upon work that is supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, under award number 2011-67001-30101.