Hello! My name is Amanda Oversen and I am a junior nursing student at
the University of North Dakota. I am currently taking a childbearing
class and will soon be doing clinicals on the OB unit. I joined this
listserv a few weeks ago and have enjoyed learning about the different
topics that have been discussed so far. Labor and Delivery has always
fascinated me, and I am eagerly awaiting my chance to get on the floor
during clinicals.
One topic that interests me is breastfeeding and the role
nurses play in helping the new mom with that experience. And as we all
know, although it may not always be considered the "norm" health care
professionals are emphasizing the importance of breastfeeding. As the
oldest of five children that were all breastfeed, I know that when I
become a mother I would like to breastfeed my children as well. My
mother's small town job was very flexible and allowed her to take
breaks and leave work to breastfeed her children. However, according
to Ong, Yap, Li, and Choo (2005), the most important reasons for
working mothers to stop breastfeeding between two and six months were
due to work-related factors (48.4%). These reasons included the need
to return to work, facilities at the workplace being not conducive for
breastfeeding and demands of work interfering with breastfeeding.
According to Lanting, Van Wouwe, and Reijneveld (2005), the
recommendation is to breastfeed an infant for at least six months, and
thereafter continued breastfeeding until two years of age along with
complementary foods. In this study as well, one of the main contributing
factors to stop breastfeeding was the return to work and the feeling of
the mother being restricted by breastfeeding.
Brown, Bright, Dwyer, and Foxman(2005) also concurred breastfeeding
to be the most complete form of nutrition for infants. They also stated
success in expressing and collecting milk may be a determining factor in a
woman's ability to maintain her milk supply and successfully breastfeedher
infant, especially for mothers with premature infants who are unable to
nurse directly from the breast at birth or for working mothers who are
unable to nurse during their working hours.
My questions are with what useful information can we give them
about breast pumps, what information can we as nurses provide to new
moms with a job to encourage them to keep breastfeeding when they
return to work and is there any information or policies we can give
them about getting breaks or adequate time to either feed the infant
or pump breast milk?
Thank you,
Amanda Oversen SN
Brown, L., Bright, R., Dwyer, D., and Foxman, B. (2005). Breast Pump
Adverse Events: Reports to
The Food and Drug Administration. J Hum Lact. 21(2).
Lanting, C., Van Wouwe, J., and Reijneveld, S. (2005). Infant milk
feeding practices in the
Netherlands and associated factors. Acta Pediactrica. 94:635-
942.
Ong, G., Yap, M., Li, F., and Choo, T. (2005). Impact of working
status on breastfeeding in
Singapore. The European Journal of Public Health. 15(4): 424-
430.
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