Health Belief Model Analysis: Breastfeeding and Its Impact

This report examines the Health Belief Model (HBM) and its application to breastfeeding practices. It explores the influence of parental attitudes, social media, and health beliefs on a mother's decision to breastfeed. The report highlights that a mother's perception of the benefits of breastfeeding, influenced by family, friends, and healthcare professionals, significantly impacts her behavior. The study references research indicating that positive beliefs, driven by support and information, can encourage breastfeeding. Furthermore, the report touches upon the role of social media and internet campaigns in shaping these beliefs. The ultimate goal is to understand how the HBM can be used to promote and support breastfeeding practices for better maternal and child health outcomes, including the impact on child development and societal well-being.

Running Head: HEALTH BELIEF MODEL
HEALTH BELIEF MODEL
NAME OF THE STUDENT
NAME OF THE UNIVERSITY
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1HEALTH BELIEF MODEL
Breastfeeding is dependent on the attitude of the mother, father, family members and
friends. The behavior of the mother and the attitude of the parents determines whether the
mother will breastfeed the child or not. There is also support from the healthcare staff about
breastfeeding that might influence the behavior of the mother towards breastfeeding (Parsa et
al., 2015). There are a number of research that shows the effect of health beliefs and the
attitude of the parent on the behavior of breastfeeding.
The health belief model (HBM) indicates that the individuals try to have healthy
behavior in order to stop the health problems and the diseases. This is because the individuals
belief that they can be susceptible to the problem and if they see that there is a benefit from
the action and that the outcome of the action is good (Parsa et al., 2015). As per HBM, if a
mother believes that there is a perceived benefit in breastfeeding then she is more likely to
breastfeed her child. Technology like the social media and the internet also affects the
attitude and behavior of the mother who is breastfeeding her child. This is because if the
mother gets support from the social campaigns about breastfeeding then it will encourage
them for breastfeeding. Thus there can be a positive change in the belief of the mothers about
breastfeeding. The children have a better attachment to that of the parents and the time of
the infancy and that helps in the better development of the social and the economic
development especially in the regulation of the feelings (Emmanuel, 2015).

2HEALTH BELIEF MODEL
References
Emmanuel, A. (2015). A literature review of the factors that influence breastfeeding: An
application of the health belief model.
Parsa, P., Masoumi, Z., Parsa, N., & Parsa, B. (2015). Parents' Health Beliefs Influence
Breastfeeding Patterns among Iranian Women. Oman medical journal, 30(3), 187–
192. doi:10.5001/omj.2015.40