Making it “work”: mothers’ perceptions of workplace breastfeeding and pumping at Dutch universities

Abstract Background Dutch breastfeeding rates are below World Health Organization’s recommendations and targets despite the benefits for individuals and society. Increasing the rates is complex due to multiple breastfeeding determinants, of which maternal education and employment are dominant. This...

Descripción completa

Guardado en:

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales:	Maike Hentges, Eva Pilot
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	BMC 2021
Materias:	Breastfeeding Pumping Mothers Workplace Universities The Netherlands Pediatrics RJ1-570 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/805c8bab04b04eefaaf8ddab1b83ea9f
Etiquetas:	Agregar Etiqueta Sin Etiquetas, Sea el primero en etiquetar este registro!

id	oai:doaj.org-article:805c8bab04b04eefaaf8ddab1b83ea9f
record_format	dspace
spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:805c8bab04b04eefaaf8ddab1b83ea9f2021-11-14T12:39:55ZMaking it “work”: mothers’ perceptions of workplace breastfeeding and pumping at Dutch universities10.1186/s13006-021-00433-w1746-4358https://doaj.org/article/805c8bab04b04eefaaf8ddab1b83ea9f2021-11-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1186/s13006-021-00433-whttps://doaj.org/toc/1746-4358Abstract Background Dutch breastfeeding rates are below World Health Organization’s recommendations and targets despite the benefits for individuals and society. Increasing the rates is complex due to multiple breastfeeding determinants, of which maternal education and employment are dominant. This study aimed to identify the perceptions and experiences of mothers employed at Dutch universities regarding barriers and enablers to workplace breastfeeding and pumping. Methods The study adopted a descriptive, qualitative research design. Thirteen semi-structured online interviews, underpinned by the Social Ecological Model, were conducted in 2020 with three experts and ten academic employees from five universities who had breastfed or pumped at work within the past five years. Qualitative data were examined through a thematic analysis. Results Four main themes were identified: physical work environment, social support, work culture and organisation, policies and legal rights. Most mothers had more negative than positive experiences combining breastfeeding with work. They were unable to exercise their rights as a breastfeeding employee due to inappropriate and inaccessible lactation rooms, a lack of communication and information-provision, other people’s lack of awareness, inflexible working hours and unadjusted workloads, especially for teaching positions. All participants found the duration of Dutch maternity leave too short. Conclusions Universities need to increase institutional efforts at multiple levels and meet their legal obligations to support breastfeeding employees. Workplace interventions should be combined with more political commitment to normalise breastfeeding, monitor compliance with maternity protection provisions at work and prolong parental leave to encourage breastfeeding continuation.Maike HentgesEva PilotBMCarticleBreastfeedingPumpingMothersWorkplaceUniversitiesThe NetherlandsPediatricsRJ1-570Public aspects of medicineRA1-1270ENInternational Breastfeeding Journal, Vol 16, Iss 1, Pp 1-13 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Breastfeeding Pumping Mothers Workplace Universities The Netherlands Pediatrics RJ1-570 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270
spellingShingle	Breastfeeding Pumping Mothers Workplace Universities The Netherlands Pediatrics RJ1-570 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 Maike Hentges Eva Pilot Making it “work”: mothers’ perceptions of workplace breastfeeding and pumping at Dutch universities
description	Abstract Background Dutch breastfeeding rates are below World Health Organization’s recommendations and targets despite the benefits for individuals and society. Increasing the rates is complex due to multiple breastfeeding determinants, of which maternal education and employment are dominant. This study aimed to identify the perceptions and experiences of mothers employed at Dutch universities regarding barriers and enablers to workplace breastfeeding and pumping. Methods The study adopted a descriptive, qualitative research design. Thirteen semi-structured online interviews, underpinned by the Social Ecological Model, were conducted in 2020 with three experts and ten academic employees from five universities who had breastfed or pumped at work within the past five years. Qualitative data were examined through a thematic analysis. Results Four main themes were identified: physical work environment, social support, work culture and organisation, policies and legal rights. Most mothers had more negative than positive experiences combining breastfeeding with work. They were unable to exercise their rights as a breastfeeding employee due to inappropriate and inaccessible lactation rooms, a lack of communication and information-provision, other people’s lack of awareness, inflexible working hours and unadjusted workloads, especially for teaching positions. All participants found the duration of Dutch maternity leave too short. Conclusions Universities need to increase institutional efforts at multiple levels and meet their legal obligations to support breastfeeding employees. Workplace interventions should be combined with more political commitment to normalise breastfeeding, monitor compliance with maternity protection provisions at work and prolong parental leave to encourage breastfeeding continuation.
format	article
author	Maike Hentges Eva Pilot
author_facet	Maike Hentges Eva Pilot
author_sort	Maike Hentges
title	Making it “work”: mothers’ perceptions of workplace breastfeeding and pumping at Dutch universities
title_short	Making it “work”: mothers’ perceptions of workplace breastfeeding and pumping at Dutch universities
title_full	Making it “work”: mothers’ perceptions of workplace breastfeeding and pumping at Dutch universities
title_fullStr	Making it “work”: mothers’ perceptions of workplace breastfeeding and pumping at Dutch universities
title_full_unstemmed	Making it “work”: mothers’ perceptions of workplace breastfeeding and pumping at Dutch universities
title_sort	making it “work”: mothers’ perceptions of workplace breastfeeding and pumping at dutch universities
publisher	BMC
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/805c8bab04b04eefaaf8ddab1b83ea9f
work_keys_str_mv	AT maikehentges makingitworkmothersperceptionsofworkplacebreastfeedingandpumpingatdutchuniversities AT evapilot makingitworkmothersperceptionsofworkplacebreastfeedingandpumpingatdutchuniversities
_version_	1718429115948728320

Making it “work”: mothers’ perceptions of workplace breastfeeding and pumping at Dutch universities

Ejemplares similares