Background. Doctor mothers are a high-risk group for early cessation of breastfeeding. Improving breastfeeding among doctor mothers would not only improve the wellbeing of their babies, but the experience might also enhance their advocacy for breastfeeding to patients.Objective. To describe the infant feeding intentions and behaviours of doctor mothers in Bloemfontein, South Africa, focusing onbreastfeeding and factors that impact the decision on feeding method.Methods. This was a descriptive study. The target population included female medical doctors with a biological child under the ageof 5 years, recruited via snowball sampling. Respondents completed an electronic questionnaire, answering questions regarding infantfeeding intentions and behaviours.Results. There were 104 respondents who provided information on 132 children. The median intended duration of exclusivebreastfeeding for the first-born child was 6 months and 6.5 months for the second-born, but the actual median duration for bothchildren was 3 months shorter. The intention to express breastmilk at work was 67.7% for Child 1 and 57.7% for Child 2; however,the actual outcome was less than half of the intention (32.0%). Most respondents (71.0%) indicated there was no dedicated area forexpressing breastmilk at their place of work.Conclusion. The intention to exclusively breastfeed was high (6 months), but the actual duration was 3 months shorter. The percentage of doctor mothers who eventually expressed breastmilk at work was less than half of those who intended to do so. Breastfeeding female doctors need more support in the postpartum period, especially when returning to work after maternity leave
Background: Antibiotic resistance (ABR) is a global problem with the overuse of antibiotics accelerating this process. Antibiotic stewardship aims to optimise antibiotic treatment to enable cost-effective therapy and improve patients’ outcome whilst limiting ABR. The study aimed to evaluate intern medical doctors’ knowledge and perceptions about antibiotic stewardship and their perceptions regarding education on relevant topics.Methods: This was a cross-sectional study on interns rotating at Bloemfontein Academic Complex. An anonymous, self-administered questionnaire was completed. The questionnaire recorded demographic information, perception and knowledge of antibiotic stewardship, and the quality of education as perceived by the interns.Results: Of the 120 possible participants, 92 (76.7%) responded to all or part of the questionnaire. The median age of the respondents was 25 years, and 56.7% of the respondents were female. The mean score for the knowledge-based case scenarios was 5.4 out of 10. Only 4.4% participants could manage a drip site infection correctly, whilst 18.5% could treat Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacteraemia. The interns perceived that they have a lack of training and preparedness in certain areas of prescribing antibiotics. Though 77.2% of the interns had received education on starting antibiotic treatment, 29.3% claimed to be unsure when to start antibiotic therapy. Interns indicated that formal lectures (81.3%) and bedside tutorials (86.7%) have a high educational value.Conclusion: Intern medical doctors do not have sufficient knowledge to establish antibiotic stewardship but have a desire for improvement. The results identified specific areas where better antibiotic training is required.
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