Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Effect of Components of a Workplace Lactation Program on Breastfeeding Duration Among Employees of a Public-Sector Employer

  • Published:
Maternal and Child Health Journal Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of the individual services offered via a workplace lactation program of one large public-sector employer on the duration of any breastfeeding and exclusive breastfeeding. Exclusive breastfeeding was defined as exclusive feeding of human milk for the milk feeding. A cross-sectional mailed survey approach was used. The sample (n = 128) consisted of women who had used at least one component of the lactation program in the past 3 years and who were still employed at the same organization when data were collected. Descriptive statistics included frequency distributions and contingency table analysis. Chi-square analysis was used for comparison of groups, and both analysis of variance (ANOVA) and univariate analysis of variance from a general linear model were used for comparison of means. The survey respondents were primarily older, white, married, well-educated, high-income women. More of the women who received each lactation program service were exclusively breastfeeding at 6 months of infant age in all categories of services, with significant differences in the categories of telephone support and return to work consultation. After adjusting for race and work status, logistic regression analysis showed the number of services received was positively related to exclusive breastfeeding at 6 months and participation in a return to work consultation was positively related to any breastfeeding at 6 months. The study demonstrated that the workplace lactation program had a positive impact on duration of breastfeeding for the women who participated. Participation in the telephone support and return to work consultation services, and the total number of services used were related to longer duration of exclusive and/or any breastfeeding.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Lindberg, L. D. (1996). Women’s decisions about breastfeeding and maternal employment. Journal of Marriage and Family, 58(1), 239–252.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Greiner, T. (1999). Factors associated with the duration of breastfeeding may depend on the extent to which mothers of young children are employed. Acta Paediatrica, 88(12), 1311–1312.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Roe, B., Whittington, L. A., Fein, S. B., & Teisl, M. F. (1999). Is there competition between breast-feeding and maternal employment? Demography. May, 36(2), 157–171.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Vogel, A., Hutchison, B. L., & Mitchell, E. A. (1999). Factors associated with the duration of breastfeeding. Acta Paediatrica, 88(12), 1320–1326.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Wright, A. L. (2001). The rise of breastfeeding in the United States. Pediaticr Clinics of North America, 48(1), 1–12.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Bovell-Benjamin, A. C., Benjamin, W., Ivey, M., & Simeon, D. T. (2001). Breastfeeding knowledge and beliefs among adults in Eastern Tobago. Journal of Human Lactation, 17(4), 298–303.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Novotny, R., Hla, M. M., Kieffer, E. C., Park, C. B., Mor, J., & Thiele, M. (2000). Breastfeeding duration in a multiethnic population in Hawaii. Birth, 27(2), 91–96.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Bentley, M. E., Dee, D. L., & Jensen, J. (2003). Breastfeeding among low income, African-American women: Power, beliefs and decision making. The Journal of Nutrition, 133, 305S–309S.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. McLeod, D., Pullon, S., & Cookson, T. (2002). Factors Influencing continuation of breastfeeding in a cohort of women. Journal of Human Lactation, 18(4), 335–342.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Yinyam, S., & Morrow, M. (1999). Breastfeeding practices among employed Thai women in Chiang Mai. Journal of Human Lactation, 15(3), 225–232.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Auerbach, K. G., & Guss, E. (1984). Maternal employment and breastfeeding: A study of 567 women’s experience. American Journal of Diseases of Children, 138(10), 958–960.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Taveras, E. M., Capra, A. M., Braveman, P. A., Jensvold, N. G., Escobar, G. J., & Lieu, T. A. (2003). Clinician support and psychosocial risk factors associated with breastfeeding discontinuation. Pediatrics, 112(1), 108–115.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Department of Health and Human Services. (2000). HHS blueprint for action on breastfeeding. Washington, DC: U. S. Department of Health and Human Services.

    Google Scholar 

  14. U. S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Breastfeeding among U.S. children born 1999–2006, CDC National Immunization Survey. (2010). U.S. centers for disease control and prevention. Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/breastfeeding/data/NIS_data/index.htm. Accessed March 18, 2010.

  15. American Academy of Pediatrics. (2005). Breastfeeding and the use of human milk. Pediatrics, 115(2), 496–506.

    Google Scholar 

  16. Bar-Yam, N. B. (1998). Workplace lactation support, part II: Working with the workplace. Journal of Human Lactation, 14(4), 321–325.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Bar-Yam, N. B. (2004). Nursing mothers at work: Corporate and maternal strategies to support lactation in the workplace. Journal of the Association for Research on Mothering, 6(2), 127–138 (Fall/Winter).

    Google Scholar 

  18. Society for Human Resource Management. (2009). Employee benefits: Examining employee benefits in a fiscally challenging economy (pp. 1–84). Alexandria, VA: Society for Human Resource Management.

    Google Scholar 

  19. Cohen, R., & Mrtek, M. (1994). The impact of two corporate lactation programs on the incidence and duration of breastfeeding by employed mothers. American Journal of Health Promotion, 8(6), 436–441.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Cohen, R., Mrtek, M., & Mrtek, R. G. (1995). Comparison of maternal absenteeism and infant illness rates among breast-feeding and formula-feeding women in two corporations. American Journal of Health Promotion, 10(2), 148–153.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Cohen, R., Lange, L., & Slusser, W. (2002). A description of a male-focused breastfeeding promotion corporate lactation program. Journal of Human Lactation, 18(1), 61–65.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  22. Stokamer, C. L. (2002, August). Helping new mothers maintain lactation. Federal Practitioner, 10–19.

  23. Wyatt, S. N. (2002). Challenges of the working breastfeeding mother: Workplace solutions. AAOHN Journal, 50(2), 61–66.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  24. Whaley, S. E., Meehan, K., Lange, L., Slusser, W., & Jenks, E. (2002). Predictors of breastfeeding duration for employees of the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 102(9), 1290–1293.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  25. Ortiz, J., McGilligan, K., & Kelly, P. (2004). Duration of breast milk expression among working mothers enrolled in an employer-sponsored lactation program. Pediatric Nursing, 30(2), 111–119.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  26. Slusser, W. M., Lange, L., Dickson, V., Hawkes, C., & Cohen, R. (2004). Breast milk expression in the workplace: A look at frequency and time. Journal of Human Lactation, 20(2), 164–169.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  27. Li, R., Scanlon, K. S., & Serdula, M. K. (2005). The validity and reliability of maternal recall of breastfeeding practice. Nutrition Reviews, 63(4), 103–110.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  28. Fein, S. B., Labiner-Wolfe, J., Shealy, K. R., Li, R., Chen, J., & Grummer-Strawn, L. M. (2008). Infant feeding practices study II: Study methods. Pediatrics, 122(Suppl 2), S28–S35.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  29. Chatterji, P., & Frick, K. (2003). Does returning to work after childbirth affect breastfeeding practices. Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research.

  30. Dodgson, J. E., Chee, Y.-O., & Yap, T. S. (2004). Workplace breastfeeding support for hospital employees. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 47(1), 91–100.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  31. Fein, S. B., & Roe, B. (1998). The effect of work status on initiation and duration of breastfeeding. American Journal of Public Health, 88(7), 1042–1046.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  32. Dennis, C. L. (2002). Breastfeeding initiation and duration: A 1990–2000 literature review. Journal of Obstetric, Gynecological, & Neonatal Nursing, 31(1), 12–32.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  33. Li, R., Darling, N., Maurice, E., Barder, L., & Grummer-Strawn, L. M. (2005). Breastfeeding rates in the United States by characteristics of the child, mother, or family: The 2002 National Immunization Survey. Pediatrics, 115(1), 31–37.

    Google Scholar 

  34. Fein, S. B., Mandal, B., & Roe, B. (2008). Success of strategies for combining employment and breastfeeding. Pediatrics, 122, S56–S62.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  35. Johnston, M. L., & Esposito, N. (2007). Barriers and facilitators for breastfeeding among working women in the United States. Journal of Obstetric, Gynecological & Neonatal Nursing, 36(1), 9–20.

    Google Scholar 

  36. Porteous, R., Kaufman, K., & Rush, J. (2000). The effect of individualized professional support on duration of breastfeeding: a randomized controlled trial. Journal of Human Lactation, 16(4), 303–308.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  37. Pugh, L. C., Milligan, R. A., Frick, K. D., Spatz, D., & Bronner, Y. (2002). Breastfeeding duration, costs, and benefits of a support program for low-income breastfeeding women. Birth, 29(2), 95–100.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  38. Pugh, L. C., Milligan, R. A., & Brown, L. P. (2001). The breastfeeding support team for low-income, predominantly-minority women: A pilot intervention study. Health Care for Women International, 22, 501–515.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  39. U. S. Preventive Services Task Force. (2003). Behavioral interventions to promote breastfeeding. U. S. Preventive Services Task Force [website]. Available at: http://www.ahrq.gov/clinic/3rduspstf/brstfeed/brfeedrr.htm. Accessed 08/06/2003.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Notre Dame of Maryland, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Jane A. Johnston Balkam

  2. Healthy Children Project, East Sandwich, MA, USA

    Karin Cadwell

  3. Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, Food and Drug Administration, Washington, DC, USA

    Sara B. Fein

Authors
  1. Jane A. Johnston Balkam
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Karin Cadwell
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Sara B. Fein
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jane A. Johnston Balkam.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Balkam, J.A.J., Cadwell, K. & Fein, S.B. Effect of Components of a Workplace Lactation Program on Breastfeeding Duration Among Employees of a Public-Sector Employer. Matern Child Health J 15, 677–683 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-010-0620-9

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-010-0620-9

Keywords

Search

Navigation