Breastfeeding support practices in designated workplaces in the Breede Valley sub-district, Western Cape, South Africa

Background. Globally, mothers have identified employment as one of the leading barriers to exclusive and continued breastfeeding. The workplace and employment setting has been highlighted as one component of an enabling environment for breastfeeding.Objectives. To assess breastfeeding support practices in designated workplaces in the Breede Valley sub-district, Western Cape, South Africa.Methods. A quantitative, cross-sectional design study was used. An online survey was conducted amongst human resource managers and/or company managers to determine breastfeeding support practices in designated workplaces.Results. Fourteen participants completed the online survey. Breastfeeding support practices in designated workplaces were limited and inadequate, with few supportive breastfeeding practices. Onsite or nearby crèche facilities (n=2; 14.3%), breastfeeding counsellors (n=1; 7.1%), promotion of the benefits of breastfeeding to employees (n=2; 14.3%) and provision of private space for expressing (n=2; 14.3%) were not common practices. Workplace breastfeeding policies (n=4; 28.6%) were not common practice, and were mostly found in the public sector. Forty-three percent of workplaces (n=6; 42.9%) did not provide time for expressing at work.Conclusion. There is an urgent need to create advocacy regarding the benefits of breastfeeding support in the workplace for employers, employees and society as well as the breastfeeding rights of women in the workplace. The legislated breastfeeding break times need to be monitored to ensure better compliance in workplaces

Breastfeeding Policies and Practices in Healthcare Facilities in the Western Cape Province; South Africa

The Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) is a global effort to improve the role of maternity services and to enable mothers to breastfeed their infants; thus ensuring the best start in life for their infants. The foundation for the BFHI is the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding (BF). It has been shown; however; that the selective implementation of only some of the steps may be ineffective and discouraging to successful BF practices. An initial study was therefore conducted to assess the extent of the implementation of the Ten Steps in both public and private maternity facilities. Poor performance for some steps led to a follow-up study to investigate the knowledge and attitudes of health care workers (HCWs) and mothers alike and to evaluate the exclusive BF (EBF) practices of mothers attending private BF clinics. Both studies followed descriptive; cross-sectional designs and were set in the Cape Metropole in the Western Cape. Twenty-six maternity facilities participated in the initial study; for which observation lists were completed and verified by interviewer-administered questionnaires to both HCWs and mothers. Eighteen private BF clinics participated in the follow-up study; which included observations and interviewer-administered questionnaires to 25 HCWs and 64 mothers. During the initial study; lower mean scores were noted for Steps 1; 2; 6 and 10. The overall implementation of the Ten Steps was average. The findings highlighted the importance of the establishment and implementation of BF policies; of appropriate and continuous BF training and better referral systems to ensure initiation and establishment of early BF; EBF practices and support on an ongoing basis to ensure the best start in life for infants