Marina L Johnston1, Noreen Esposito2. 1. United States Air Force (USAF), Nurse Corps and a women's health nurse practitioner, at Women's Health Care Clinic, Cannon AFB, NM.. Electronic address: marina43402@earthlink.net. 2. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To review the literature and describe the barriers and facilitators to the continuation of breastfeeding for at least 6 months by working women in the United States. DATA SOURCES: A search of PubMed, CINAHL, Sociological Abstracts, ISI, PsychInfo, and ProQuest. STUDY SELECTION: Twenty studies based on the inclusion criteria and published between January 1, 1995, and January 2006. DATA EXTRACTION: An ecologic framework, which includes the individual (microsystem), social support and relationships (mesosystem), and the workplace environment (exosystem). DATA SYNTHESIS: When working mothers possess certain personal characteristics and develop a strategic plan, breastfeeding is promoted. When social support is available and when support groups are utilized, lactation is also facilitated. Part-time work, lack of long mother-infant separations, supportive work environments and facilities, and child care options facilitate breastfeeding. CONCLUSIONS: Health care providers can use the findings of this review to promote breastfeeding among working women by using tactics geared toward the mother, her social network, and the entire community.
OBJECTIVE: To review the literature and describe the barriers and facilitators to the continuation of breastfeeding for at least 6 months by working women in the United States. DATA SOURCES: A search of PubMed, CINAHL, Sociological Abstracts, ISI, PsychInfo, and ProQuest. STUDY SELECTION: Twenty studies based on the inclusion criteria and published between January 1, 1995, and January 2006. DATA EXTRACTION: An ecologic framework, which includes the individual (microsystem), social support and relationships (mesosystem), and the workplace environment (exosystem). DATA SYNTHESIS: When working mothers possess certain personal characteristics and develop a strategic plan, breastfeeding is promoted. When social support is available and when support groups are utilized, lactation is also facilitated. Part-time work, lack of long mother-infant separations, supportive work environments and facilities, and child care options facilitate breastfeeding. CONCLUSIONS: Health care providers can use the findings of this review to promote breastfeeding among working women by using tactics geared toward the mother, her social network, and the entire community.