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Addressing barriers to health: Experiences of breastfeeding mothers after returning to work
Author(s) -
Valizadeh Sousan,
Hosseinzadeh Mina,
Mohammadi Eesa,
Hassankhani Hadi,
M. Fooladi Marjaneh,
Schmied Virginia
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
nursing and health sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.563
H-Index - 47
eISSN - 1442-2018
pISSN - 1441-0745
DOI - 10.1111/nhs.12324
Subject(s) - breastfeeding , thematic analysis , work (physics) , nursing , qualitative research , psychology , medicine , sociology , pediatrics , mechanical engineering , social science , engineering
Breastfeeding mothers returning to work often feel exhausted as they must feed on demand and attend to family and employment responsibilities, leading to concerns for their personal health. This study was prompted by a desire to understand and identify barriers to mothers' health. We describe the experiences of 12 Iranian breastfeeding and employed mothers through in‐depth and semi‐structured interviews and thematic analysis. Two main themes emerged: (i) working and mothering alone and (ii) facing concerns about health. The findings highlight the need for a support system for breastfeeding mothers within the family and in the workplace. Family‐friendly policies targeting mothers' and employers' views are needed to support working mothers and promote breastfeeding.