Negotiating breastfeeding information in everyday life: mothers’ engagement with momfluencer content

This qualitative study investigates how breastfeeding mothers’ information practices unfold in relation to momfluencers’ breastfeeding content. Using Mckenzie’s everyday life information seeking model as the central lens, the study draws on fifteen in-depth interviews to explore the range and complexity of mothers’ everyday information practices with breastfeeding-related momfluencer content. The analysis identified three themes that together traced how mothers moved from encountering momfluencer content to making sense of it and ultimately integrating it into their personal practices. The findings indicate that mothers’ engagement with momfluencer content emerges through a dynamic interplay between the mothers’ online actions and platform algorithms that continuously shape content visibility and exposure. Participants primarily valued momfluencer content for its relatability, emotional resonance, and experiential knowledge, positioning it as a meaningful complementary resource alongside professional breastfeeding guidance. At the same time, the mothers actively negotiated and selectively integrated this content into their everyday lives in multiple ways, ranging from applying practical breastfeeding advice based on their personal relevance to drawing emotional reassurance and motivation from the breastfeeding experiences shared by momfluencers. By centring mothers’ own perspectives and practices, this study advances influencer research beyond content analyses and self-presentation to foreground how audiences incorporate momfluencer content into their everyday lives. The findings offer concrete implications for health communication researchers and practitioners seeking to understand how digital influencer culture mediates breastfeeding support, maternal well-being, and decision making.