Using a lactation room at the workplace is associated with longer breastfeeding duration in working mothers

Abstract

Introduction: maternal employment after childbirth is associated with abandonment of breastfeeding; however, lactation rooms in the workplace increase the practice of breastfeeding. Objective: to compare the frequency and duration of breastfeeding among working mothers based on the presence of lactation rooms in their workplaces. Methods: we included mothers from different institutions whose infants were between 6 and 35 months (n = 158), and an ad hoc questionnaire was applied to assess breastfeeding, exclusive breastfeeding (EBF), partial breastfeeding (PBF), and use of human milk substitutes (HMS). Two groups were compared: working mothers with a lactation room at their workplace (n = 76) versus working mothers without this resource (n = 82). Results: breastfeeding duration (7.5 vs. 5.0 months, p < 0.001) and EBF (3.0 vs. 1.2 months, p = 0.005) were higher in mothers who had a lactation room. HMS use was shorter in mothers who had a lactation room (2.5 vs. 10.0 months, p = 0.001). There were more working mothers who breastfed for more than six months (75.0 % vs. 48.8 %) [OR = 3.15 (95 % CI, 1.60-6.19), p = 0.001] and 12 months (31.6 % vs. 14.6 %) [OR = 2.69 (95 % CI, 1.23-5.87), p = 0.014] when lactation rooms were available in their workplaces. Conclusion: the presence of a lactation room in the workplace was associated with a higher frequency and duration of breastfeeding.