Being a healthcare professional, a mother, and having breastfed my child for two years, I would definitely say that it wasn’t easy. Yes, it is supposed to be an enjoyable experience, as many say. But it isn’t when you don’t receive the required guidance. Support for breastfeeding mothers is still lagging at several levels. The WHO, sensing this issue, has named the theme for Breastfeeding Week 2024 Closing the Gap: Breastfeeding Support for All. [1] What do “gap” and “support” mean?
Based on shared personal experiences and studies [2, 3] the potential gaps and issues faced by breastfeeding mothers are as follows:
Inadequate knowledge and guidance: Many breastfeeding mothers don’t have adequate knowledge and guidance to manage the common breastfeeding struggles that lead them to drop breastfeeding altogether. One of the common causes is painful breastfeeding. More than 75% of women face breastfeeding pain in the first two weeks postpartum, yet only 54% seek help for it. [4] When they don’t seek help for their struggles, they either stop breastfeeding or do it by tolerating the pain, which creates a traumatic experience. Many breastfeeding mothers aren’t even aware that most of their struggles are manageable with help.
Lack of support from family and community: Breastfeeding can feel lonely. As a breastfeeding mother, one may have questions like, “Is it this painful? Is my baby getting enough milk? “Wish my partner could help?” “Or at least, can someone bring me something to eat?” These are only a few, on top of all the emotional, psychological, and physical pain one goes through. To fuel the fire, people may visit the nursing mother just to give unsolicited advice and unhelpful comments. This can be frustrating for the mother, who requires proper support and knowledge. In the long term, this kind of lack of support from family and misguided opinions from society can lead her to drop breastfeeding.
Lack of helpful breastfeeding policies and practices in the workplace: Many mothers have to get back to work soon. This is the most common reason for stopping breastfeeding for many. The reasons are many [5]:
Lack of private space to pump breast milk.
Insufficient break time
Lack of support from the employer in terms of flexibility of work responsibilities and timings.
The stigma, embarrassment, and conflicts with coworkers.
Short maternity leave
The feeling of insecurity about job safety.
At work there is limited time, you may want to breastfeed and they say come and do this, you may have to leave your child and go and attend to the person before you come back.
A Mother from the Ghana study published in the International Breastfeeding Journal
Insufficient guidance from healthcare:
During the first few days of postpartum, breastfeeding is hard for both the mother and the baby. The baby is just learning to latch to feed. The mother is trying to position herself in the right way so that her baby gets adequate nutrition. This period is crucial and this is the time when the role of healthcare providers is most needed.
New mothers trust their healthcare provider (HCP) as a source of information. Many women feel that their HCP fails to offer the support they need. What is noted in health services is the lack of collaborative work among the HCPs to support a breastfeeding mother. [6] Women feel that they receive a disconnected and standard textbook answer when asked about breastfeeding. They feel need a more individualized and informative response from their HCPs for a positive breastfeeding experience. [7]
Health professionals should be encouraging. A doctor [at the child healthcare centre] gave me wrong information and told me that after six months, no nourishment was provided by my milk and I should stop.
Another Mother from the Sweden study published in the International Breastfeeding Journal
Support for breastfeeding mothers must be ensured at various levels:
The mother’s family, especially her partner or parents, should support her physically and emotionally. It is important to make sure that she is heard and responded to in an empathetic way.
People can limit their visits in the first 45 days when the mother and the baby are learning to adjust to this new routine. When you visit, instead of giving unsolicited advice, offer to help her with her basic needs or support.
The community should learn and be educated to support the breastfeeding mother. A breastfeeding mother feels less stress when she knows that she is not alone. [8]
All breastfeeding mothers should have access to a certified lactation consultant who can help them navigate any breastfeeding problems and teach them proper latch and position techniques.
The healthcare providers treating the mother should educate mothers about the importance of breastfeeding, both during pregnancy and postpartum. And their advice to the mothers should be empathetic and individualized, not superficial and text-based.
The healthcare providers should educate themselves more about breastfeeding and learn to enforce Baby-Friendly-Hospital-Initiatives more strictly. [9]
Working mothers should be given separate space and time for breastfeeding and pumping breast milk. This space should not be a bathroom or their own vehicle.
Breastfeeding mothers should be given flexible working hours because they might be needed at any time to nurse the baby or at least to pump milk on regular schedules. Work-from-home options are best suited for breastfeeding mothers.
The workplaces should have signed breastfeeding policies to make this support more comprehensive and enforceable. So that the other employees and HR personnel are more committed to following them and supporting the breastfeeding mother.
Paid maternity leave should be extended and guaranteed in all workplaces so that mothers are given the time and security to focus on themselves and their babies. [10]
MedBound Times reached out to Kanimozhi Senthamarai Kannan, MBA., IBCLC., CABCS, MMHI, an International Board-Certified Lactation Consultant, Maternal Mental Health Counselor, and Founder of LATCHelp, to learn about the current status of support for breastfeeding mothers.
Breastfeeding is a valuable gift that a mother can offer her child. But it is largely seen as only the mother’s responsibility and a private issue. Let’s educate ourselves and others around us that this is untrue. We should take steps to help and give support for breastfeeding mothers at all levels possible. As a family member, friend, healthcare provider, office colleague or employer, we can find ways to make it work for the breastfeeding mother and her baby. A mother should never feel alone and stop breastfeeding for lack of support, as she is nurturing the foundation of a healthier future generation.
References:
“World Breastfeeding Week 2024,” n.d. https://www.who.int/campaigns/world-breastfeeding-week/2024.
Lamontagne, C., Hamelin, AM. & St-Pierre, M. The breastfeeding experience of women with major difficulties who use the services of a breastfeeding clinic: a descriptive study. Int Breastfeed J 3, 17 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1186/1746-4358-3-17
Caes, Line, Katie Abbott, and Sinéad Currie. “Exploring women’s perceptions of pain when breastfeeding using online forums.” International Breastfeeding Journal 16, no. 1 (October 18, 2021). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13006-021-00426-9.
McTigue, Sara. “What’s Causing Your Breastfeeding Pain? It May Be One of These.” Healthline, September 9, 2020. https://www.healthline.com/health/breastfeeding/breastfeeding-pain.
Kubuga, C.K., Tindana, J. Breastfeeding environment and experiences at the workplace among health workers in the Upper East Region of Ghana. Int Breastfeed J 18, 31 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13006-023-00565-1
de Almeida JM, Luz Sde A, Ued Fda V. Apoio ao aleitamento materno pelos profissionais de saúde: revisão integrativa da literatura [Support of breastfeeding by health professionals: integrative review of the literature]. Rev Paul Pediatr. 2015;33(3):356-363. doi:10.1016/j.rpped.2014.10.002
Blixt, I., Johansson, M., Hildingsson, I. et al. Women’s advice to healthcare professionals regarding breastfeeding: “offer sensitive individualized breastfeeding support”- an interview study. Int Breastfeed J 14, 51 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13006-019-0247-4
Lois. “Supporting a Breastfeeding Mother - La Leche League GB.” La Leche League GB, June 21, 2022. https://laleche.org.uk/supporting-a-breastfeeding-mother/.
“Ten steps to successful breastfeeding,” n.d. https://www.who.int/teams/nutrition-and-food-safety/food-and-nutrition-actions-in-health-systems/ten-steps-to-successful-breastfeeding.
“Promoting Worker Well-Being through Maternal and Child Health: Breastfeeding Accommodations in the Workplace | Blogs | CDC,” June 28, 2023. https://blogs.cdc.gov/niosh-science-blog/2019/02/11/breastfeeding-work/.
