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298007
Low-Income Women Balancing Full-Time Work and Exclusive Breastfeeding: A Qualitative Study
Monday, November 17, 2014
: 1:24 PM - 1:42 PM
Lea Pounds, PhD
,
Health Promotion, Social and Behavioral Health, University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Public Health, Omaha, NE
Among mothers who feed their infants breast milk at least partially, 27.3% return to or enter the labor force by the time their infants are 2 months old, and 43.5% by the time their infants are 5 months old. If working women are to achieve the recommended feeding breast milk exclusively for 6 months, they must find ways to balance their roles as nursing mothers and employees. Understanding women's experiences with balancing full-time work and feeding breast milk exclusively is necessary to develop strategies that will help achieve the Healthy People 2020 goals for increasing rates of breastfeeding exclusivity and duration. This presentation reports on a qualitative study conducted with low-income women who work full-time and feed breast milk exclusively. The study included interviews with low-income nursing mothers and WIC breastfeeding peer counselors. The focus of the study was on nursing mothers who represent a 'positive deviant behavior' in that they among a small population of working mothers who have been able to accomplish working full-time and breastfeeding exclusively for an extended period of time. Common themes were identified around type and timing of support, discussion with employers of intent to breastfeed, and workplace issues related to breastfeeding.
Learning Areas:
Public health or related research
Learning Objectives:
Describe the experience of low-income women who balance full-time work and exclusive breastfeeding.
Discuss implications for breastfeeding promotion efforts.
Keyword(s): Breastfeeding, Behavioral Research
Presenting author's disclosure statement:Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am the principal investigator on the study that forms the basis for this presentation. I have been involved in conducting research that informs interventions to promote breastfeeding.
Any relevant financial relationships? No
I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines,
and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed
in my presentation.
