IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v16y2019i4p529-d205391.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Identifying Barriers and Supports to Breastfeeding in the Workplace Experienced by Mothers in the New Hampshire Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children Utilizing the Total Worker Health Framework

Author

Listed:
  • Eric A. Lauer

    (Institute on Disability, New Hampshire Occupational Health Surveillance Program, University of New Hampshire, College of Health and Human Services, Durham, NH 03824, USA)

  • Karla Armenti

    (Institute on Disability, New Hampshire Occupational Health Surveillance Program, University of New Hampshire, College of Health and Human Services, Durham, NH 03824, USA)

  • Margaret Henning

    (Department of Public Health, Keene State College, Keene, NH 03435, USA)

  • Lissa Sirois

    (State Director, Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services, Concord, NH 03301, USA)

Abstract

Variations in the barriers and contributors to breastfeeding across industries have not been well characterized for vulnerable populations such as mothers participating in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). Our study used the Total Worker Health Framework to characterize workplace factors acting as barriers and/or contributors to breastfeeding among women participating in the New Hampshire WIC. Surveys were collected from WIC mothers ( n = 682), which asked about employment, industry, and workplace accommodation and supports related to breastfeeding in the workplace. We found workplace policy factors supporting breastfeeding (i.e., having paid maternity leave, other maternity leave, and a breastfeeding policy) varied by industry. Women in specific service-oriented industries (i.e., accommodation and retail) reported the lowest rates of breastfeeding initiation and workplace supports for breastfeeding and pumping. Further, how a woman hoped to feed and having a private pumping space at work were significantly associated with industry, breastfeeding initiation, and breastfeeding duration. A substantial portion of women reported being not sure about their workplace environment, policies, and culture related to breastfeeding. Additional studies with larger sample sizes of women participating in WIC are needed to further characterize the barriers to breastfeeding associated with specific industries.

Suggested Citation

  • Eric A. Lauer & Karla Armenti & Margaret Henning & Lissa Sirois, 2019. "Identifying Barriers and Supports to Breastfeeding in the Workplace Experienced by Mothers in the New Hampshire Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children Utilizing the To," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(4), pages 1-18, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:16:y:2019:i:4:p:529-:d:205391
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/16/4/529/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/16/4/529/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Fein, S.B. & Roe, B., 1998. "The effect of work status on initiation and duration of breast-feeding," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 88(7), pages 1042-1046.
    2. Murtagh, L. & Moulton, A.D., 2011. "Working mothers, breastfeeding, and the law," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 101(2), pages 217-223.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. EunSeok Cha & Myoung Hwan Shin & Betty J. Braxter & In Sook Park & Hyesun Jang & Byung Hun Kang, 2021. "Client-Centered Breastfeeding-Promotion Strategies: Q Methodology," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(6), pages 1-14, March.
    2. Malgorzata Witkowska-Zimny & Dorota Majczyna, 2021. "How Knowledge about Stem Cells Influences Attitudes towards Breastfeeding: Case Study of Polish Women," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(5), pages 1-14, March.
    3. Flora Ukoli & Jacinta Leavell & Amasyah Mayo & Jayla Moore & Nia Nchami & Allysceaeioun Britt, 2023. "Encouraging and Reinforcing Safe Breastfeeding Practices during the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(3), pages 1-16, January.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Frédéric Dutheil & Grégory Méchin & Philippe Vorilhon & Amanda C. Benson & Anne Bottet & Maëlys Clinchamps & Chloé Barasinski & Valentin Navel, 2021. "Breastfeeding after Returning to Work: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(16), pages 1-21, August.
    2. Julia Hatamyar, 2022. "Workplace Breastfeeding Legislation and Female Labor Force Participation in the United States," Papers 2209.05916, arXiv.org, revised Oct 2024.
    3. Clive R. Belfield & Inas Rashad Kelly, 2012. "The Benefits of Breast Feeding across the Early Years of Childhood," Journal of Human Capital, University of Chicago Press, vol. 6(3), pages 251-277.
    4. Resul Cesur & Joseph J. Sabia & Inas Rashad Kelly & Muzhe Yang, 2017. "The effect of breastfeeding on young adult wages: new evidence from the add health," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 15(1), pages 25-51, March.
    5. Kirksey, Kristen, 2021. "A social history of racial disparities in breastfeeding in the United States," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 289(C).
    6. Mandal, Bidisha & Roe, Brian Eric & Fein, Sara Beck, 2010. "The differential effects of full-time and part-time work status on breastfeeding," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 97(1), pages 79-86, September.
    7. Sousan Valizadeh & Mina Hosseinzadeh & Eesa Mohammadi & Hadi Hassankhani & Marjaneh M. Fooladi & Virginia Schmied, 2017. "Addressing barriers to health: Experiences of breastfeeding mothers after returning to work," Nursing & Health Sciences, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 19(1), pages 105-111, March.
    8. Emine Gerçek & Seher Sarıkaya Karabudak & Nigar Ardıç Çelik & Aynur Saruhan, 2017. "The relationship between breastfeeding self‐efficacy and LATCH scores and affecting factors," Journal of Clinical Nursing, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 26(7-8), pages 994-1004, April.
    9. Sarah G. Buxbaum & Olumide Arigbede & Arlesia Mathis & Fran Close & Sandra G. Suther & Elizabeth Mazzio & Remelda Saunders-Jones & Karam F. A. Soliman & Selina F. Darling-Reed, 2023. "Disparities in Infant Nutrition: WIC Participation and Rates of Breastfeeding in Florida," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(11), pages 1-13, May.
    10. Pinka Chatterji & Kevin Frick, 2005. "Does Returning to Work After Childbirth Affect Breastfeeding Practices?," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 3(3), pages 315-335, September.
    11. Bar-El, Ronen & Hatsor, Limor & Tobol, Yossef, 2020. "Home production, market substitutes, and the labor supply of mothers," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 171(C), pages 378-390.
    12. Youn Huh & Yu Na Kim & Young Sik Kim, 2021. "Trends and Determinants in Breastfeeding among Korean Women: A Nationwide Population-Based Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(24), pages 1-9, December.
    13. Demir, Firat & Ghosh, Pallab & Liu, Zexuan, 2020. "Effects of motherhood timing, breastmilk substitutes and education on the duration of breastfeeding: Evidence from Egypt," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    14. Huang, Rui & Yang, Muzhe, 2015. "Paid maternity leave and breastfeeding practice before and after California's implementation of the nation's first paid family leave program," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 16(C), pages 45-59.
    15. Anita Kottwitz & Anja Oppermann & C. Katharina Spiess, 2016. "Parental leave benefits and breastfeeding in Germany: effects of the 2007 reform," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 14(4), pages 859-890, December.
    16. Baker, Michael & Milligan, Kevin, 2008. "Maternal employment, breastfeeding, and health: Evidence from maternity leave mandates," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 27(4), pages 871-887, July.
    17. Noveri Aisyaroh & Emi Sutrisminah & Widayati Widayati, 2019. "Management Commitments in the Policy Implementation of Exclusive Breast-Feeding for Working Mothers: A Study in Textile Industries in Central Java," Global Journal of Health Science, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 11(4), pages 1-63, April.
    18. Han, Bilin & Kim, Jinhee & Timmermans, Harry, 2023. "Work schedule arrangements in two-adult households with children," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 177(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:16:y:2019:i:4:p:529-:d:205391. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.