Maternity Leave Length and Workplace Policies' Impact on the Sustainment of Breastfeeding: Global Perspectives

Steurer, Lisa M

doi:10.1111/phn.12321

Cited by 58 publications

(47 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…In contrast, manual workers and "intermediate employees" (i.e. with subordinate positions) were less likely to be able to continue ABF [41]. In an intermediate situation, and despite early RTW and other working constraints, managers may have continued ABF because it was compatible with their work organization and also because of the health benefits they expected for their child.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Combining breastfeeding and work: findings from the Epifane population-based birth cohort

Castetbon

Boudet-Berquier

Salanave

2020

BMC Pregnancy Childbirth

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Background: Return to work is often cited as a reason for early cessation of breastfeeding (BF). Our objectives were to study the time span during which women employed prior to pregnancy returned to work according to BF duration category, and to identify sociodemographic, behavioral and pregnancy characteristics of women who continued BF after returning to work. Methods: Information on BF mode and work status was prospectively collected in a French nationwide birth cohort up to 1 year after delivery. Time of return to work according to BF category was addressed using Kaplan-Meier curves and Poisson regression adjusted on co-variates. Multiple logistic regression enabled to identify characteristics associated with the combination of BF with work. Results: Among 2480 women holding jobs prior to pregnancy, 82.0% returned to work within a year postpartum. Women who breastfed > 4 months returned at median of 6.5 months, whereas those who did not breastfeed at all returned to their jobs at 4.0 months, those who had breastfed for less than 1 month returned at 4.5 months, and those who had breastfed for 1 to 4 months returned at 4.0 months. Around one-third of women (34.5%) combined BF and work, and breastfed for a longer duration (median: 213 days, vs. 61 days for women who stopped BF before returning to work). Women born outside of France or who were self-employed were more likely to combine BF and work, while intermediate employees, manual workers, women who quitted smoking during pregnancy, who had smoked before and during pregnancy, or who had given birth by cesarean section were less likely to combine BF and work. Conclusion: Women who had breastfed for less than 4 months, or not at all, returned to their jobs at comparable times. This suggests that working women should be encouraged to breastfeed, even for a short duration. Moreover, only one-third of working women succeeded in combining BF and work, highlighting the need for a support system that would encourage flexibility.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Combining breastfeeding and work: findings from the Epifane population-based birth cohort

Castetbon

Boudet-Berquier

Salanave

2020

BMC Pregnancy Childbirth

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“…Some evidence showed that employed mothers face unique barriers to practice exclusive breastfeeding and returning to work too early after the birth has been shown to harm the practice of exclusive breastfeeding.one study showed that the more we increase the legislated duration of paid maternity leave, the more the mothers practice exclusive breastfeeding and this will result in higher prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding [112,113,114].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prevalence of Exclusive Breastfeeding Practice in Ethiopia and Its Association with Maternal Employment: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis, 2019

Wake

Mittiku

2020

Preprint

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Background: Exclusive breastfeeding defined as the practice of providing only breast-milk for an infant for the first 6 months of life without the addition of any other food or water, which recommends initiation of breastfeeding within one hour of life and continued breastfeeding for up to 2 years of age or more. Maternal employment is the most important factor contributing to the low practice of exclusive breastfeeding. However; the effect of maternal employment on exclusive breastfeeding is not investigated in Ethiopia.Methods: Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guideline was used in this systematic review and meta-analysis. The databases used were; PubMed, Google Scholar, Science Direct, and Cochrane library were systematically searched. Joanna Briggs Institute Meta-Analysis of Statistics Assessment and Review Instrument (JBI-MAStARI) was used for critical appraisal of studies.Results: 36 studies were included in the final analysis after reviewing 541 studies in this meta-analysis yielding the pooled prevalence of EBF 59.79% (95% [CI] 54.58, 65.00) in Ethiopia.Those employed mothers were 57% less likely to practice exclusive breastfeeding in comparison to unemployed mothers in Ethiopia [OR] 0.43; 95% CI (0.3, 0.62).Conclusions: The overall prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding in this meta-analysis is low in comparison to the global recommendation of the practice of exclusive breastfeeding. Maternal employment was significantly associated with the practice of exclusive breastfeeding in comparison to their counterparts. Based On our review findings, we recommended that the Ethiopian government should increase legislated paid maternity leave after delivery beyond current paid maternity leave and implement policies that empower women and create a conducive environment for mothers to practice exclusive breastfeeding at workplace.

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“…The need to adopt policies that defend work–family conciliation and support breastfeeding is fundamental, and legislation and financial investment are necessary [ 15 ] for this conciliation to become a reality. Changing and supporting these policies by employers appears to be effective in maintaining breastfeeding [ 16 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Female Employees’ Perception of Breastfeeding Support in the Workplace, Public Universities in Spain: A Multicentric Comparative Study

Cervera‐Gasch

Mena‐Tudela

León-Larios

et al. 2020

IJERPH

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Background: Despite scientific recommendations for exclusive breastfeeding until 6 months of age and complementary breastfeeding to 2 years of age, breastfeeding abandonment rates increase with time, and one of the main reasons is that women go back to work. Aim: To analyze the perception of support of breastfeeding workers to continue breastfeeding at two Spanish universities, and associated factors. Methods: A multicenter retrospective cross-sectional comparative study conducted in a population of 777 female workers at the Universidad de Sevilla (US) and the Universitat Jaume I (UJI) in Spain using an online questionnaire. Results: The response rate was 38.74% (n = 301). Of all the participants, 57.8% continued breastfeeding after returning to work. The factors associated with continuing breastfeeding for longer were the university having a breastfeeding support policy and special accommodation (p < 0.001); participating in breastfeeding support groups (p < 0.001); intending to continue breastfeeding after returning to work (p < 0.001); knowing the occupational legislation in force (p = 0.009); having a female supervisor (p = 0.04). Conclusion: Breastfeeding support initiatives and having special accommodation to pump and preserve breast milk after returning to work are associated with a longer duration of female workers’ breastfeeding.

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Maternity Leave Length and Workplace Policies' Impact on the Sustainment of Breastfeeding: Global Perspectives

Abstract: There is a lack of consistency globally on maternity leave length and workplace policy as determinants of sustained breastfeeding for employed mothers. A consistent approach is needed to achieve the goal of exclusive breastfeeding for infants.

Cited by 58 publications

References 22 publications

Combining breastfeeding and work: findings from the Epifane population-based birth cohort

Combining breastfeeding and work: findings from the Epifane population-based birth cohort

Prevalence of Exclusive Breastfeeding Practice in Ethiopia and Its Association with Maternal Employment: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis, 2019

Female Employees’ Perception of Breastfeeding Support in the Workplace, Public Universities in Spain: A Multicentric Comparative Study

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