EFFECTS OF MOTHERS OCCUPATION ON BREAST-FEEDING PRACTICES IN UMUAHIA

ABSTRACT

This study was designed to find out the effect of mothers occupation on breastfeeding practices in Umuahia South. A questionnaire was distributed to 108 breastfeeding mothers. The study revealed the meaning of breastfeeding. Benefits for infants for mothers, types of breastfeeding, energy and nutrient needs of the mother during breastfeeding, breastfeeding and maternal employment, knowledge of breastfeeding, employment and breastfeeding practices. The study also revealed that the mothers aged 21-30 years (29.6%) 31-40 years (44.4%) and 41-50 years (25.9%). About 74.0% of the breastfeeding mothers were not always available to breastfeed their babies stating their reasons for lack of satisfaction is due to tight schedule, type of job, and 83.3% were granted maternity leave where 64.8% said that the maternity leave were not long enough and they said that the reason for wanting longer maternity leave is for them to breastfeed their baby exclusively and also take good care of them. The study revealed that despite maternity leave and support, mothers are still complaining about their work and nursing baby and they suggests that there should be room for them to enable breastfeeding easier for them thereby providing family support, flexing working hours, day care centres. The study revealed that 11.3% of the mothers exclusively breastfed their babies from 0-6 months, while 60% exclusively breastfed for 0-5 months. It was observed that 37.2% of them had good breastfeeding skills, which is initiation of breast milk immediately after delivery. The findings of this study revealed that the breastfeeding mothers faced a lot of challenges while combining breastfeeding and work, and the full-time employment (breastfeeding mothers) had negative effects as mothers had less length time to breast feed their babies which is contrary to the recommendation to breastfeed exclusively for at least a period of six months.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Title page i

Certification ii

Dedication iii

Acknowledgment iv

Table of contents v

List of Tables vi

Abstracts ix

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1   BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

1.2    Statement of the Problem

1.3    Objectives of the Study

1.3.1  General Objectives

1.3.2 The Specific Objectives Include

1.4 Significance of the Study

CHAPTER 2

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.0 Background Information

2.1 Breastfeeding

2.1.1    Exclusive Breastfeeding

2.1.2    Diet During Breastfeeding

2.1.3 Breast Milk

2.2 Benefits for the Infant

2.2.1.  Immunity

2.2.2    Infections

2.2.3.   Sudden Infant Death Syndrome

2.2.4.    Diabetes

2.2.5.    Mental Health

       Benefits for Mothers

Bonding

 Hormone Release

2.3.3 Weight Loss

     Types Of Breastfeeding

 Exclusive Breastfeeding

 Continued Breastfeeding

2.4.3  Mixed Breastfeeding

2.4.4  Formula Feeding

2.5  Properties and Components of Breast Milk

2.6  Energy and Nutrient Needs of the Mother during Breastfeeding

2.7  Breastfeeding and Maternal Employment

2.7.1  The Role Work Place Characteristics

2.7.2  Endogenity of Work Place Characteristics

2.7.3 Physiological Possiblity to Breastfeed and Work

2.7.4    Positive Factors Influencing Breastfeeding and Work

2.7.5 Negative Factors Influencing Breast-Feeding and Work

2.7.6 The Family Physician’s Role

2.7.7    Work and Breastfeeding

CHAPTER 3

MATERIALS AND METHODS

3.1 Area of Study

3.2 Sample Size and Population

3.3 Study Design

3.4 Validation of Questionnaire

3.5 Study Population

3.6 Data Collection

3.7 Data Analysis

CHAPTER 4

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

4.1 Personal/Socio-Economic Characteristics of the Respondents

4.2 Knowledge of Breastfeeding

4.3 Effects of Employment on Breastfeeding

4.3b Effect of Employment on Breastfeeding

4.4 Practice of Exclusive Breastfeeding

CHAPTER 5

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

5.1 Conclusion

5.2 Recommendations

REFERENCES

LIST OF TABLES

Table 4.1: Personal /Socio-Economic Characteristics of the Respondents

Table 4.2: Knowledge of Breastfeeding

Table 4.2b: Knowledge of Breastfeeding

Table 4.3: Effect of Employment on Breastfeeding

Table 4.3b: Effect of Employment on Breastfeeding

Table 4.4: Practice of Exclusive Breastfeeding

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1    BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Breast feeding provides numerous benefits to infants and mothers including decreasing the incidence of illness, which gives the infant a healthy start and reduces medical costs. It is widely agreed that breast milk is the ideal for the human infants, while breast feeding has gained support among public official and mothers in the past several decades. (Klerman, 1999). Changes in women’s employment patterns have made it increasingly diffnicult for women to breast feed. The prevalence of married working mothers with young children in the workforce doubled between 1970 and 1990, reaching a high of 60% in 2000, (Klerman, 1999) and in 1990, 54% of new mothers were working full-time before the birth of their child, three-quarters were back working full-time by the time the baby was 6months old.

In line with the need for mothers to breastfeed their children properly. American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends a minimum of 1 year of breastfeeding. (Cardenas and Mayor, 2005). This recommendation by AAP, that all mothers should practice exclusive breastfeeding, it becomes a challenge for mothers especially for those who do not get any social support from family members when they return to work. Study shows that  lack of support at home and at work as well as lack of breastfeeding instruction from healthcare professionals (Grummer-Strawn, 2010).

The work done on factors affecting breastfeeding among lactating mothers in umuahia are few and scanty. This work is therefore designed to determine the effect of mother’s occupation on breastfeeding practices in Umuahia.

1.2     STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Literature clearly shows that breastfeeding mothers face a lot of challenges in their attempt to combine fulltime work with the practice of exclusive breastfeeding especially in organizations where there is no support for this group of mothers. (Thompson and Bell, 1997). Mothers that return to work after maternity and children not been fed with breast milk has been report to be the problem facing both mother and child. Breastfeeding mothers who return to work after maternity leave will have few options of pumping their breast milk into bottle in advance by leaving them to their house helps which may even make the breast milk to be contaminated thereby making the breast milk to be infected by diseases or infection causing sickness to the child both physically and mentally (Meyerink and Marquis, 2002).

Lactating mother who return to work lament that they lack concentration in their work place because they were also thinking about the child and making a lots of mistakes (Thomas and Ganster, 1995). Therefore breast feeding mothers are suggesting if there could be room for them like nursing breaks, flexing working hours, part time work schedules and family support so as to enable them combine breastfeeding and work efficiently.

1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

1.3.1  General objectives

The general objective of this study is to investigate the effect of mother’s occupation on breastfeeding.

1.3.2 The specific objectives include

The specific objectives of the study were to:

i. Examine the personal/socio- economic characteristics of the breastfeeding mothers.

ii. Assess the knowledge of the mothers on breastfeeding.

iii. Assess the effect of employment and breastfeeding practices

iv. Identify the practice of exclusive breastfeeding

1.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

At the end of this research, the result from this study will bring information and knowledge, the importance and how combining work and breastfeeding is so stressful to mothers there by making them not to concentrate on their work.  Finding from this research will help to bring information on the importance of exclusive breastfeeding, the knowledge of practices. Finding from this research will help to know the factors affecting breastfeeding working mothers and also help mothers to know the bad effect of not breastfeeding exclusively and it will also enable mothers on how to combine work and breastfeeding effectively and how is affecting them both on the child and the mother.

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