Olson, Beth2012-01-102012-01-102012-01-102012-01-10December 22010-12http://hdl.handle.net/10657/183The ideology that breastfeeding is a recommended form of nutrition for babies has become widely popular in the United States. However, some social norms like the baring of the breasts make it difficult for the mother to feel comfortable in her nursing practices. The media are often argued to be an influencing factor in public perceptions, and this study considers the media as well as interpersonal sources as influential factors in a woman’s choice to breastfeed. The importance of this study lies in the need to hear from the mothers and their experiences. Concepts and ideas from social cognitive theory, and two-step flow theory were applied in the discussions and findings. This study included eleven face-to-face interviews of women with children and women who are pregnant. This qualitative approach was designed so individual women’s voices could be heard.application/pdfengThe author of this work is the copyright owner. UH Libraries and the Texas Digital Library have their permission to store and provide access to this work. Further transmission, reproduction, or presentation of this work is prohibited except with permission of the author(s).BreastfeedingMothersMotherhoodInfantsMediaMass communicationSocial Cognitive TheoryTwo-step flowInterpersonal communicationHealthHealth campaignsMass media2012-01-10Thesisborn digital