Working Mothers of the World Health Organization Western Pacific Offices

Abstract

Optimal breastfeeding saves lives. However, suboptimal breastfeeding is prevalent, primarily resulting from inappropriate promotion of infant formula and challenges of working mothers to continue breastfeeding. The article aims to determine the extent to which World Health Organization (WHO) policies protect, promote, and support breastfeeding women working at the WHO, Western Pacific Region. An online survey targeted all female WHO and contractual staff in all country and regional offices, who delivered a baby between July 24, 2008 and July 24, 2013. Respondents advised on how the worksite could better support breastfeeding. Thirty-two female staff from 11 of the 12 WHO offices within the Western Pacific Region responded. "Returning to work" (44%) and "not having enough milk" (17%) were the most commonly reported reasons for not breastfeeding. Eighteen (56%) reported using infant formula and 8 (44%) reported that the product was prescribed. Among the suggestions given to better support breastfeeding, 10 (32%) recommended having a private room with a chair, table, electric outlet, and refrigerator. The findings show that women working at the WHO face similar challenges to mothers outside the WHO. Based on the findings, we recommend the following: (1) provide prenatal/postpartum breastfeeding counseling services for employees; (2) establish breastfeeding rooms in country offices and regularly orient staff on agency policies to protect, promote, and support breastfeeding; (3) annually celebrate World Breastfeeding Week with employees; (4) encourage other public and private institutions to conduct online surveys and elicit recommendations from mothers on how their workplace can support breastfeeding; and (5) conduct a larger survey among UN agencies on how to better protect, promote, and support breastfeeding.

Exclusive breastfeeding among city-dwelling professional working mothers in Ghana

“…The importance of early initiation of breastfeedingis well recognised [2, 30, 33]. In the current study, nearly all working mothers (91 %) initiated breastfeeding within the first one hour of delivery.…”

“…It is worthy of note that, in Ghana, this period is limited to only three months by law, which is far too short for a working mother to practice exclusive breastfeeding to six months, making the practice a challenge. In Western Pacific settings, maternity leave extends to sixteen weeks [2] but other studies in Taiwan cited that most companies provide only eight weeks of maternity leave [40]. …”

“…Other statistics indicate that one hundred and thirty-five million babies are delivered annually, but only 42 % (57 million) initiate breastfeeding within the first hour after birth, 39 % are breastfed exclusively during the first six months, and 58 % continue breastfeeding up to the age of two years [2]. Several studies have reported barriers accounting for this situation, including returning to work after delivery [3].…”

Maternity Leave Length and Workplace Policies' Impact on the Sustainment of Breastfeeding: Global Perspectives

“…To evaluate the effectiveness of workplace policies that support breastfeeding, the WHO surveyed their staff in their Western Pacific offices on how employers could better support breastfeeding practices (Iellamo, Sobel, & Engelhardt, 2015). They found that WHO employees faced obstacles similar to those of other employed mothers.…”

Breast-feeding perceptions, beliefs and experiences of Marshallese migrants: an exploratory study

“…3 Of the approximately 135 million babies born every year world-wide, only 39% are exclusively breastfeeding during the first 6 months; and more than 800,000 deaths in children under age 5 years are also attributed to suboptimal breastfeeding. 5 In the United States, the rate of exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months is at 16.4% and is slowly rising, but the rate remains well below the Healthy People 2020 target goal of 25.5%. 1 According to the National Immunization Survey, 80% of infants in the United States are breastfed with only 21.9% exclusively breastfeeding at 6 months.…”