Returning to work from maternity leave for NHS staff: breastfeeding and other challenges
- Collier, Jennie
- Hearfield, Hollie
- Paize, Fauzia
Authors
Dr Jennie Collier, Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist, Wirral CAMHS. Email:[email protected]
Dr Hollie Hearfield, ST6 Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist. Twitter: @HollieJennie
Dr Fauzia Paize, Consultant Neonatologist.
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For more information on this topic see MIC database search packs: PN31 Breastfeeding and working mothers; M72 Workplace culture.
Aims
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that women breastfeed their children until two years of age (). The UK's breastfeeding rates are amongst the poorest in the world. UNICEF's infant feeding survey in 2010 highlighted that, while 81 per cent of new UK mothers started breastfeeding, only one per cent continued to exclusively breastfeed until their child was six months old.
The National Health Service (NHS) has taken great strides to promote and support breastfeeding in order to improve these statistics. Yet, results of our pilot study of 519 cases demonstrated that doctors returning to work in the NHS after maternity leave experienced significant difficulties in continuing their breastfeeding journeys. It also highlighted other areas where women were not being supported.
We have extended our study to better understand the experiences of women returning to work from maternity leave, across the wider professional groups within the NHS.