Applying Feminist Poststructuralism as a Framework for Exploring Infant Feeding Interactions in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.25071/2291-5796.12

Keywords:

Feminist poststurcturalism, Nursing practice, Infant feeding, breastfeeding, chest feeding, neonatal intensive care unit

Abstract

Childbearing/rearing families in Canada face a variety of conflicting discourses related to infant feeding, entrenched in a complex web of gendered, social, institutional and political discourses. For parents of preterm and/or critically ill infants, this area remains largely under-explored through a feminist lens. We offer a critical examination of the applicability of feminist poststructuralism (FPS) as a theory to explore infant feeding interactions in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Scholarly literature from diverse perspectives, including nursing, healthcare, gender studies, and social sciences is critiqued and the use of FPS as a guiding framework for nursing research and praxis is discussed. We discuss FPS and the relevance of various discourses to explore the phenomenon of infant feeding interactions in the NICU. Ultimately, we propose that FPS does offer a relevant lens through which to critically examine infant feeding interactions and bring voice to the complex processes embedded in the NICU.

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Author Biographies

Jacqueline Elizabeth van Wijlen, McGill University & St. Francis Xavier University

Jacqueline is a graduate of St. Francis Xavier University (Bachelor of Science in Nursing with Advanced Major), Dalhousie University (Master of Nursing-Nurse Practitioner Stream: Family/All-Ages) and a current PhD student at McGill University in the Ingram School of Nursing. The focus of her PhD research is a qualitative exploration of infant feeding in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) using a feminist poststructural lens. In conjunction with her PhD studies, Jacqueline currently holds a tenure-track position as an Assistant Professor in the Rankin School of Nursing at St. Francis Xavier University, teaching courses in research methods, maternal-child and family health & wellness.

Megan Aston, School of Nursing, Dalhousie University

Dr. Megan Aston is a Professor and Associate Director of Research and International Affairs at the School of Nursing Dalhousie University and has a scientific affiliate position at the IWK Health Centre and Nova Scotia Health Authority. Her program of research focuses on maternal, child and newborn health in the community and hospital both locally and globally. She also conducts research with children with intellectual disabilities, their families and health care professionals who care for them. She uses feminist poststructuralism informed by discourse analysis to examine how nurses and clients negotiate beliefs, values and practices that have been socially and institutionally constructed through relations of power.

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Published

2019-06-30

How to Cite

van Wijlen, J. E., & Aston, M. (2019). Applying Feminist Poststructuralism as a Framework for Exploring Infant Feeding Interactions in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Witness: The Canadian Journal of Critical Nursing Discourse, 1(1), 59–72. https://doi.org/10.25071/2291-5796.12