According to study by US researchers shows the earlier a new mother goes back to work after giving birth, the less likely she is able to breastfeed her baby. The new mothers who went back to work within six weeks were less prone to start breastfeeding in comparison to other women and when they started, they were less prone to carry on.
While mother who stayed at home for as a minimum for nine months or even for thirteen weeks were more prone to predominantly breastfeed their babies for three months or more. Many studies have already shown that babies who breastfed regularly have lower rates of a number of pediatric ailments counting asthma, eczema, ear infections, pneumonia and sudden infant death syndrome.
According to study author Dr. Chinelo Ogbuanu from the Georgia Department of Community Health, there are many causes which make it harder for women to continue breastfeeding. All women should be encouraged in attempting to breastfeed and continue it as long as possible. The more women breastfeed, the more milk they produce.
When mothers are separated from their babies during the day, their milk supply might start to dwindle. And when it comes to milk production no matter how good a breast pump is, it is not as efficient as an infant. Women should try to take all their maternity leave at once rather than breaking it up.
Women should find ways to keep their baby close to the workplace during the day so they can breastfeed during work breaks. Failing that, regular pumping will ensure that their supply continues. At present just seven out of ten women in US breastfeed their babies at all and just three out of ten continue for full six months.
To examine the relationship between breastfeeding and work, Ogbuanu and team evaluated statistic of more than six thousand women who worked before giving birth. In interviews conducted after nine months and two years of babies birth, the mothers reported how long they had breastfed and when they returned to their work.
It churned out women who did not return to work for at least nine months after giving birth were more prone to have started breastfeeding than women who reported returned in six weeks or less. Particularly, about seven of every ten mothers who were still home nine months later had tried to breastfeed.
By contrast, six out of ten those returned to work within one to six weeks after baby’s birth. Even mother those stayed home for as a minimum thirteen weeks seemed to have easier time of breastfeeding. More than three out of ten stated that they predominantly breastfed their babies for at least three months, reported the journal Pediatrics.
There was found no association between breastfeeding and total permitted maternity leave paid or unpaid by researchers. But study focused on how long women took off prior to going back to work. It is concluded that the rate of breastfeeding could be increased if new mothers delay their return.