How do health workers balance infant feeding and employment?

Abstract

Maternity protection is increasingly important for working women worldwide. Most African countries have some maternity protection provisions, but little is known about their utility in practice. This article described how female health workers combined infant feeding and employment. Individual interviews were conducted with 12 female health workers at a hospital in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The data was transcribed, translated, and qualitative content analysis applied. Four ways of handling infant feeding and employment emerged: preparing during pregnancy and maternity leave; maximizing breastfeeding during time off work; creating time to breastfeed during the working day; and finding someone else to manage infant feeding during the mother's absence at work. Diverse and flexible workplace and family solutions are needed to cater for employed mothers’ needs. Self-efficacy in handling infant feeding and employment is yet another factor to consider beyond the concepts of time, space/proximity, support and gatekeepers described in the literature.

Women's and Employers’ Experiences and Views of Combining Breastfeeding with a Return to Paid Employment: A Systematic Review of Qualitative Studies

“…Twenty‐six articles 22–47 presenting data from 25 studies were included (2 articles were based on data from the same study 43,44 ). The selection process is presented in Figure 1.…”

“…Seventeen included papers were from upper‐middle‐ and high‐income countries: 7 from the United States, 22,23,25,31,32,34,42 3 from Malaysia, 30,43,44 2 each from Iran 45,46 and Australia, 24,28 and one each from the United Kindgom, 27 Ireland, 26 and New Zealand 40 . Two articles were from Tanzania, 35,37 the only low‐income country represented, and 7 articles were from lower‐middle‐income countries: 3 from India, 36,38,39 3 from Pakistan, 29,41,47 and one from Bangladesh 33 . Twenty‐three included papers focused on the experiences of women, 22,24,26–33,35–47 and 3 focused on the experiences of employers 23,25,34 .…”

“…Two articles were from Tanzania, 35,37 the only low‐income country represented, and 7 articles were from lower‐middle‐income countries: 3 from India, 36,38,39 3 from Pakistan, 29,41,47 and one from Bangladesh 33 . Twenty‐three included papers focused on the experiences of women, 22,24,26–33,35–47 and 3 focused on the experiences of employers 23,25,34 . Table 2 presents the characteristics of included papers.…”

“…Three studies 34,37,41 had an overall CASP score of 10. Two studies 27,42 scored 6, the lowest score, as it was unclear how participants were selected and the rigor of data analyses was questioned by the reviewers (see Supporting Information: Table S1).…”