Working Women and Breastfeeding Essay

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It has been recognized that breastfeeding constitutes the best source of infant nourishment, functioning as nutrition as well as the "living fluid" imbued with a complex blend of enzymes, hormones, and antibodies, unique to the mother and her infant. Baby formula is unable to replicate the above essential substances. As breastfeeding is recognized as the superior mode of feeding infants, it must be protected, promoted and supported even among working mothers, after they return to their jobs. The WHO (World Health Organization) recommendation is that babies ought to be given nothing but breast milk until six months of age, with some amount of breastfeeding to be continued, at least till they reach two years of age (Deirdre Desmond & Sarah Meaney, 2016).



Breastfeeding at the Workplace



Breastfeeding rates in a majority of industrialized nations are generally below the desired levels. For instance, the 2002 U.S. estimate is that roughly seven in ten American mothers breastfed their babies in the hospital, but less than half this share (i.e., only 33%) were still feeding breast milk to their babies at six months (Abbott Laboratories, 2003). The British breastfeeding rate was 76% among just-born babies, with over 33% of mothers stopping breastfeeding by the time the baby was six weeks old. Workplace barriers may aggravate the issue and be a major contributor to a large number of working mothers' decision to prematurely quit breastfeeding. Public health drives focused at encouraging breastfeeding among working mothers call for breastfeeding support by employers, highlighting two major potential advantages to them. Firstly, absenteeism will reduce among breastfeeding moms, as breastfed infants' immune systems are stronger and they fall ill less often. Secondly, employee retention will improve among organizations supporting breastfeeding at the workplace. A key challenge, however, is the work setting's potential endogeneity, particularly that of facilities for breastfeeding. Women with high breastfeeding propensity may opt for jobs at workplaces that provide the facility to work and simultaneously breastfeed. If the above statement were true, our predictions of breastfeeding facilities' effect on returning to work as well as on breastfeeding would be upward-biased (Emilia Del Bono & Chiara Pronzato, 2012).



Job-holding among mothers, particularly full-time jobs, negatively affects breastfeeding duration. (However, breastfeeding initiation seems to be less deleteriously impacted by employment.

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) 35.5% of women with babies aged 0-12 months hold full-time jobs outside of home, while 16.1% hold part-time outside jobs. Meanwhile, 40% of women with babies aged 12-24 months hold full-time jobs outside of home, and 17% hold part-time outside jobs. Hence, improving mothers' breastfeeding ability, or that of expressing and storing milk, at workplaces, has the potential to improve breastfeeding rates in the nation. An analysis of females highly susceptible to premature quitting of breastfeeding revealed that mothers who planned on recommencing work full-time a month prior to really doing so were 1.34 times more likely to terminate breastfeeding than mothers who, in the very same period, didn't think of returning to their jobs. The odds rise to 2.18 times in the month of return to one's job, and drop to 1.32 times during the very first month of recommencing work. But during the second month, the likelihood of quitting breastfeeding doesn't vary significantly from that of non-working breastfeeding moms during the very same month. Hence, if workplace conditions promoted initiation and continuation of breastfeeding among mothers until the first two months of rejoining the organization, there is a greater likelihood of them extending their breastfeeding duration until the child turns one, at least (Lindsey Murtagh & Anthony D. Moulton, 2011).



Efforts to promote workplace breastfeeding are of three types: voluntary initiatives by the organization, governmental requirements and support, and support provided by private organizations/groups (including nonprofits). According to evidence, organizations can enjoy net economic advantages if they allow their female employees to combine breastfeeding and work. The "Business Case for Breastfeeding" initiative of the DHHS (Department of Health and Human Services) claims that, besides increasing experienced personnel's retention, breastfeeding decreases healthcare spending, boosts employee morale, improves organizational image, lowers absenteeism rates, and enhances productivity (Lindsey Murtagh & Anthony D. Moulton, 2011).



Challenges from Community



The key community-level breastfeeding obstacles may be classified under two broad heads.



Literature extensively documents male displeasure with breastfeeding being done in public. Some research works clearly reveal males' greater likelihood to disapprove, as compared to females (Avery, A. B. & Magnus, J. H., 2011). One important discovery that emerged after a focus group study performed in three major American cities was.....

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References


Abbott Laboratories (2003). "Mothers Survey," Ross Products Division: Abbott Laboratories

Avery, A. B., & Magnus, J. H. (2011). Expectant fathers' and mothers' perceptions of breastfeeding and formula feeding: a focus group study in three U.S. cities. Journal of Human Lactation, 147-154.

Deirdre Desmond, & Sarah Meaney. (2016). A qualitative study investigating the barriers to returning to work for breastfeeding mothers in Ireland. International Breastfeeding Journal, 11-16.

Emilia Del Bono, & Chiara Pronzato. (2012). Does breastfeeding support at work help mothers and employers at the same time? Institute for Social and Economic Research.

G. Mackean, & W. Spragins. (2012). The Challenges of Breastfeeding in a Complex World.

Julie Smith, Ellen Mcintyre, Lyn Craig, Sara Javanparast, Lyndall Strazdins, & Kate Mortensen. (2013). Workplace support, breastfeeding and health. Australian Institute of Family Studies, 58-73.

Kathryn Suyes, Sheryl W. Abrahams, & Miriam H. Labbok. (2008). Breastfeeding in the workplace: Other employees' attitudes towards services for lactating mothers. International Breastfeeding Journal, 3-25.

Lindsey Murtagh, & Anthony D. Moulton. (2011). Working Mothers, Breastfeeding, and the Law. American Journal of Public Health, 217-223.

Naeem Zafar Sh., & Irma Bustamante-Gavino M. (2008). Breastfeeding and working full time. International Journal of Caring Sciences, 132-139.

Su-Ying Tsai. (2013). Impact of a Breastfeeding-Friendly Workplace on an Employed Mother's Intention to Continue Breastfeeding After Returning to Work. Breastfeed Medical, 210-216.

Uche H. Nnebe-Agumadu, Elizabeth F. Racine, Sarah B. Laditka, & Maren J. Coffman. (2016). Associations between perceived value of exclusive breastfeeding among pregnant women in the United States and exclusive breastfeeding to three and six months postpartum: a prospective study and exclusive breastfeeding to three and six months postpartum: a. International Breastfeeding Journal.
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