Michelle Hennessy – News Writer
One of Southern’s only students to go abroad for their honors thesis has returned to finish her work.
Shani Legore, an honors student majoring in psychology and minoring in public health, swapped New Haven for St. Ann’s Bay Hospital in Jamaica to conduct her research on knowledge and attitudes towards breastfeeding.
“I was there for about three and a half weeks from December 2013 to January 2014, I came back the day before school started,” said Legore. “I was working day in, day out at the hospital, I was collecting data from the maternity ward – which was very interesting, a lot of women in labor, I was speaking to women just a couple of hours after giving birth which was so interesting. I also worked in the pediatric department and [with] the outpatients so I got a variety of opinions from different women.”
The 22-year-old said she always knew she wanted to center her thesis around women’s health, and through traveling realized the different perceptions to breastfeeding.
“I studied abroad in Guatemala and while I was there I could be talking to a woman and she would just pop out her breast and start breastfeeding but here, that kind of thing is not acceptable,” said Legore. “That ignited an interest in me, I wanted to find what the underlying factor was.”
Legore said she hopes more women will seek information about breastfeeding as the benefits to the baby are enormous.
“Breastfeeding has so much nutritional value that women don’t know about, or they’re not aware about. It boosts the child’s immune system, it has so many benefits in terms of their long term health as well,” said Legore. “So if we can educate women properly then we can change or transform the society.”
But Legore said one of the biggest issues is often developed countries like America enforce ideas on to developing countries, where the cultural differences prevent it from working.
“When I do become a medical doctor and a public health researcher, one of the things I want to tackle is the concept of trying to help people within their social means and not trying to force your ideas from a developed country on that person,” said Legore. “They try to implement things but it doesn’t work like that, that’s why we still have poverty, that’s why we still have women that aren’t breastfeeding.”
Having grown up in Jamaica and studied all over from America to Guatemala to Botswana, Legore said she thrives off pushing the boundaries and being able to do important research where it matters, despite the enormity of the task.
“In terms of how big it was I was a little worried, I kept thinking I couldn’t believe I was doing this but there was some kind of comfort knowing that I was going back home,” said Legore. “When I went to Botswana people kept asking me if I was scared and I was like no! I love being on the edge of the unexpected.”
By going abroad to do her research, Legore she was able to get closer to the root of the problem and understand her topic better.
“St Ann’s Bay Hospital was reported to having the lowest rates of exclusive breastfeeding,” said Legore. “As a future researcher you’re trying to find the loopholes. I could have gone down to New Haven but reading about the rates at the hospital was of interest to me, more than going down the street to a local hospital. I love to be on the edge of research and finding out what is really going on and how I can help this society.”
Legore said she hopes more students will take the opportunity to go abroad and explore and experience parts of their research that would be limited if done locally.
“I really wish mores students would step out of their boundaries. There’s a big world out there and there’s so many opportunities and you’ll never know about those possibilities unless you step out of your shell,” said Legore. “You’ll never get to explore, you’ll always wonder, you’ll always see it on TV. I didn’t want to be the person sat on the other side watching the TV, I want to be on the TV.”
