Breastfeeding, Bonding, and the Mother-infant Relationship

Mothers often report that breastfeeding is an enjoyable and emotionally beneficial experience they share with their infants. However, little research has investigated the role of feeding method in the development of the maternal bond and the mother-infant relationship. This study tested two hypotheses - the bonding hypothesis and the good-enough caregiver hypothesis - regarding the association of breastfeeding with maternal bonding and the mother-infant relationship. Using data from a longitudinal study of 570 mother-infant pairs, bonding and the quality of the mother-infant relationship were measured at 4 and 12 months. Although breastfeeding dyads tended to show higher quality relationships at 12 months, bottlefeeding dyads did not display poor quality or precarious relationships. Such results are encouraging For nonmaternal caregivers and mothers who bottlefeed their children

Considerations for employing intersectionality in qualitative health research

Intersectionality theory has recently emerged in the health sciences as a critical theoretical and methodical approach. Though some scholars have outlined explicit guidelines for applying intersectionality in research using quantitative methods, others have cited epistemological concerns and additive thinking to advocate for the analysis of intersectionality with qualitative methods. Thus, there remains a need for additional guidance and support for utilizing and applying intersectionality theory throughout the qualitative research process. With the goal of demystifying the process of utilizing intersectionality as a methodological approach in qualitative research in the health sciences, this paper provides researchers with recommendations, specific examples, and important considerations for incorporating intersectional approaches into study conceptualization, participant recruitment, data collection, and data analysis. Additionally, this paper reviews challenges that researchers may experience in conducting research using intersectional approaches and offers suggestions for overcoming challenges. This paper offers timely and relevant information that can be used to strengthen the theoretical and methodological rigor of qualitative health research, especially studies that seek to advance health equity

Developing a critical trans gerontology

Within existing academic literature, ageing within trans populations has primarily been addressed from the perspective of offering advice to service providers and clinicians, with relatively limited application of critical sociological perspectives. This article seeks to integrate the critical perspectives on gerontology with transfeminism, identifying areas of commonality regarding accounts of an integrated lifecourse, scepticism of biomedicalisation, and an emphasis on local context. The article suggests that this integration provides a fruitful basis for developing future research into the study of trans ageing, and also provides theoretical development across many debates around age, gender and the lifecourse