Overcoming Workplace Barriers
Open Access
- 24 February 2015
- journal article
- research article
- Published by SAGE Publications in Journal of Human Lactation
- Vol. 31 (3), 425-433
- https://doi.org/10.1177/0890334415573001
Abstract
Background: Persistent racial disparities in breastfeeding show that African American women breastfeed at the lowest rates. Return to work is a critical breastfeeding barrier for African American women who return to work sooner than other ethnic groups and more often encounter unsupportive work environments. They also face psychosocial burdens that make breastfeeding at work uniquely challenging. Participants share personal struggles with combining paid employment and breastfeeding and suggest workplace and personal support strategies that they believe will help continue breastfeeding after a return to work. Objective: To explore current perspectives on ways to support African American mothers’ workplace breastfeeding behavior. Methods: Pregnant African American women (n = 8), African American mothers of infants (n = 21), and lactation support providers (n = 9) participated in 1 of 6 focus groups in the Greater Detroit area. Each focus group audiotape was transcribed verbatim. Thematic analysis was used to inductively analyze focus group transcripts and field notes. Focus groups explored thoughts, perceptions, and behavior on interventions to support African American women’s breastfeeding. Results: Participants indicate that they generally believed breastfeeding was a healthy option for the baby; however, paid employment is a critical barrier to successful breastfeeding for which mothers receive little help. Participants felt breastfeeding interventions that support working African American mothers should include education and training for health care professionals, regulation and enforcement of workplace breastfeeding support policies, and support from peers who act as breastfeeding role models. Conclusion: Culturally appropriate interventions are needed to support breastfeeding among working African American women.Keywords
This publication has 49 references indexed in Scilit:
- Breastfeeding cessation and symptoms of anxiety and depression: a longitudinal cohort studyBMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, 2012
- Community-Based Participatory Research of Breastfeeding Disparities in African American WomenICAN: Infant, Child, & Adolescent Nutrition, 2011
- The Effect of Maternity Leave Length and Time of Return to Work on BreastfeedingPEDIATRICS, 2011
- Working Mothers, Breastfeeding, and the LawAmerican Journal of Public Health, 2011
- A Randomized Controlled Trial of Breastfeeding Support and Education for Adolescent MothersWestern Journal of Nursing Research, 2010
- A Randomized Controlled Community-Based Trial to Improve Breastfeeding Rates Among Urban Low-Income MothersAcademic Pediatrics, 2010
- Race, socioeconomic status, and health: Complexities, ongoing challenges, and research opportunitiesAnnals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 2010
- Group Prenatal Care and Perinatal OutcomesObstetrics & Gynecology, 2007
- Discrimination, Symptoms of Depression, and Self-Rated Health Among African American Women in Detroit: Results From a Longitudinal AnalysisAmerican Journal of Public Health, 2006
- A General Inductive Approach for Analyzing Qualitative Evaluation DataAmerican Journal of Evaluation, 2006