Abstract:Nearly half of the working population in Malaysia are women, and with only a short period of maternity leave, they may struggle to achieve the recommended 6 months of exclusive breastfeeding. The aim of this paper was to explore the relationship between the timing of return to work and beliefs and breastfeeding practices among women in urban Malaysia. A qualitative inquiry based on a phenomenological framework and multiple methods was used: face-to-face interview, participant diary and researcher field notes. … Show more
“…However, despite the challenges, some did continue EBF until 6 months because of their positive attitude regarding the benefits of EBF. Similar findings are reported in a study conducted among employed women in Malaysia (Sulaiman et al, 2018). Sulaiman et al (2018) found that the time of returning to work was a hindrance to EBF for some mothers but not for others.…”
Section: Delay Returning To Work Before 6 Monthssupporting
confidence: 89%
“…Similar findings are reported in a study conducted among employed women in Malaysia (Sulaiman et al, 2018). Sulaiman et al (2018) found that the time of returning to work was a hindrance to EBF for some mothers but not for others. This might be because maternal behaviour is the main contributor in determining the duration of EBF.…”
Section: Delay Returning To Work Before 6 Monthssupporting
Evidence from different countries shows that the level of support given to mothers who return to paid employment can significantly determine the duration of exclusive breastfeeding (EBF). However, little is known about how returning to work impacts Ethiopian women's EBF practice. The aim of this study was to explore women's attitudes and experiences of EBF when they returned to work. Mothers who had an infant of less than 12 months, working in government institutions in Tigray region, Ethiopia, were invited to participate in this study. Semi-structured, face-to-face interviews were used to explore mothers' perspectives of the factors that influenced EBF when they returned to work. The interview data were transcribed verbatim and thematically analysed. Twenty mothers were interviewed from 10 organizations. Three themes were identified from their accounts: mother's knowledge, attitudes and practice towards breastfeeding; workplace context and employment conditions; and support received at home. Most participants were familiar with the benefits of EBF.Most participants reported that their colleagues had more positive attitudes towards breastfeeding than their managers. In almost all the workplaces, there was no specific designated breastfeeding space. Participants reported that close family members including husbands and mothers were supportive. Mothers' knowledge and attitude towards breastfeeding, workplace and employment conditions and support received at home were found to be the main factors determining the duration of EBF among employed women. Participants reported that the overall support given to breastfeeding women from their employers was insufficient to promote EBF.
“…However, despite the challenges, some did continue EBF until 6 months because of their positive attitude regarding the benefits of EBF. Similar findings are reported in a study conducted among employed women in Malaysia (Sulaiman et al, 2018). Sulaiman et al (2018) found that the time of returning to work was a hindrance to EBF for some mothers but not for others.…”
Section: Delay Returning To Work Before 6 Monthssupporting
confidence: 89%
“…Similar findings are reported in a study conducted among employed women in Malaysia (Sulaiman et al, 2018). Sulaiman et al (2018) found that the time of returning to work was a hindrance to EBF for some mothers but not for others. This might be because maternal behaviour is the main contributor in determining the duration of EBF.…”
Section: Delay Returning To Work Before 6 Monthssupporting
Evidence from different countries shows that the level of support given to mothers who return to paid employment can significantly determine the duration of exclusive breastfeeding (EBF). However, little is known about how returning to work impacts Ethiopian women's EBF practice. The aim of this study was to explore women's attitudes and experiences of EBF when they returned to work. Mothers who had an infant of less than 12 months, working in government institutions in Tigray region, Ethiopia, were invited to participate in this study. Semi-structured, face-to-face interviews were used to explore mothers' perspectives of the factors that influenced EBF when they returned to work. The interview data were transcribed verbatim and thematically analysed. Twenty mothers were interviewed from 10 organizations. Three themes were identified from their accounts: mother's knowledge, attitudes and practice towards breastfeeding; workplace context and employment conditions; and support received at home. Most participants were familiar with the benefits of EBF.Most participants reported that their colleagues had more positive attitudes towards breastfeeding than their managers. In almost all the workplaces, there was no specific designated breastfeeding space. Participants reported that close family members including husbands and mothers were supportive. Mothers' knowledge and attitude towards breastfeeding, workplace and employment conditions and support received at home were found to be the main factors determining the duration of EBF among employed women. Participants reported that the overall support given to breastfeeding women from their employers was insufficient to promote EBF.
“…Given the declining frequency and duration of breastfeeding during recent decades in Malaysia, the observed lower frequency of breastfeeding in HR‐positive cases compared to HR‐negative cases is also consistent with the rising HR‐positive cancers in contrast to the falling HR‐negative cancers. However, the association of breastfeeding with cancer subtypes in our study is contradictory with results based on a systematic review summarizing 27 studies that reported a stronger protective effect of breastfeeding for HR‐negative cancers (especially for triple‐negative cancer) compared to HR‐positive cancers .…”
Recent studies from high-risk countries such as the US, Denmark and Ireland have shown rising incidence rates of hormone receptor (HR)-positive and falling rates of HR-negative breast cancers (BC). However, it remains unclear whether a similar pattern occurs in low-risk countries. Detailed clinical and risk factor data were collected from 2,977 female invasive BC patients (≥20 years) in Sarawak General Hospital, Malaysia, representing 93% of the population. The population-at-risk was obtained from the Department of Statistics Malaysia. Secular trends in age-standardized incidence rates were assessed using estimated average annual percent changes. Associations between established BC risk factors and tumor subtypes defined by HR or joint human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HR/HER2) status were examined by case-case comparisons using logistic regression. From 2006 to 2015, incidence rates increased for HR-positive cancers by 4.46%/year (95% CI = 2.19-6.78) and decreased for HR-negative cancers by 2.29%/year (95% CI = −4.31 to −0.24). When further stratified by HER2, the most contrasting difference in linear trends was observed between HR+/HER2− and HR−/HER2− subtypes. After controlling for potential confounders, cases with excess body weight (OR overweight vs. normal = 0.82; 95% CI = 0.69-0.98; OR obese vs. normal = 0.62; 95% CI = 0.48-0.80), later age at first birth (OR ≥26 years vs. <23 years = 0.82; 95% CI = 0.66-1.02), nulliparity (OR nulliparous vs. <23 years = 0.74; 95% CI = 0.59-0.94) and never-breastfeeding (OR never vs. ever = 0.73; 95% CI = 0.55-0.97) were less frequent among HR-negative cases than among HR-positive cases. Diverging incidence trends by HR expression were similar in Sarawak and Western countries, possibly reflecting changes in the prevalence of risk factors with opposing effects by tumor subtypes in low-and high-risk populations.Additional Supporting Information may be found in the online version of this article.
“…Moreover, we considered socio-demographic information on mothers collected at recruitment, without taking into account any changes that occurred during the follow-ups at 1 and 2 years. For instance, it could be interesting to evaluate in the future whether women who return to work after maternity leave exhibit different compliance with breastfeeding recommendations [ 61 , 62 ]. Secondly, the proportion of infants who were breastfed until 2 years was low, not allowing us to determine what factors might be associated with prolonged breastfeeding with complementary feeding.…”
Background and objectives: The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends women (1) to initiate breastfeeding within one hour of birth; (2) to exclusively breastfeed for the first six months; and (3) to continue breastfeeding until two years of age. However, women do not always adhere to these recommendations, threatening the health of their children. The present study aims to evaluate breastfeeding status and the main maternal factors associated with exclusive breastfeeding for six months among women from the “Mamma & Bambino” study, a prospective cohort settled in Catania, Italy. Materials and Methods: We used data from 220 women (median age = 37 years) enrolled in the “Mamma & Bambino” cohort during prenatal obstetric counselling. Self-reported breastfeeding status was collected during the follow-up interviews at 1 and 2 years, referring to breastfeeding status (i.e., yes or no) and type of breastfeeding (i.e., exclusive or predominant). We also collected data about duration of breastfeeding to classify women into those who adhered to the WHO recommendation and those who did not. Results: In the general population, we noted that the proportion of women who have breastfed increased with increasing educational level. Accordingly, logistic regression analysis demonstrated that medium (OR = 3.171; 95% CI = 1.285–7.822; p = 0.012) and high educational levels (OR = 4.549; 95% CI = 1.525–13.570; p = 0.007) were positively associated with breastfeeding if compared to low educational level. Among women who have breastfed, instead, the proportion of adherents to the WHO recommendation was higher among those with medium–high educational level and those who were employed. In line with this, we demonstrated that full-time employment (OR = 2.158; 95% CI = 1.033–4.508; p = 0.041) and medium educational level (OR = 4.632; 95% CI = 1.227–17.484; p = 0.024) were positively associated with exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months. Conclusions: Socio-demographic factors should be taken into account through public health strategies for improving maternal knowledge about health benefits of exclusive breastfeeding.
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