Table 3 Facilitators and Barriers to Research Participation among Pregnant and Breastfeeding Women^a

Facilitators

Aspirational benefit

(n = 25)

Personal motivations for participating in research, including contributing to science, contributing to breastfeeding research, and the potential benefit to future generations.

Collateral benefit

(n = 23)

Unintended benefits stemming from participation in the study, including access to research results, and education and community engagement.

Direct benefit

(n = 35)

Factors arising from research participation that provide a benefit to the participant firsthand, including childcare, lactation support, and compensation or incentives.

Third party influences

(n = 14)

Interpersonal factors, such as a person or group of people sharing information about the study that could influence recruitment and research participation among women who are pregnant and breastfeeding. Third party influences could be online, such as friends on Facebook and membership in specific online groups, or offline, such as physicians, friends, lactation consultants, and study team members.

Recruitment Channel

(n = 27)

The venue or location channel or location in which the study team should place (i.e., put, leave, post) recruitment materials for prospective participants. Recruitment channels included offline locations, such as a doctor’s office, grocery store, and playgrounds, as well as online locations, such as the Internet, Facebook, or other social media.

Barriers

Inconveniences

(n = 37)

Aspects of the study that made participating more difficult, including time requirements, physical discomforts, and breastfeeding schedule.

Protocols/study risks

(n = 19)

Specific requirements within the study or protocol that would deter research participation and retention. These included potential risks to participants and their babies and long-term breastfeeding (in)ability.

Biological sample collection

(n = 9)

Factors pertaining to sample collection that deterred participation, including timing of collection, ease of collection, and sample drop off.

Third party influences

(n = 20)

Interpersonal factors that were out outside of the participant and the study that would preclude research participation, such as having a newborn (e.g., newborn with a fussy temperament), having other children, and the influence of family members.