Changes in Breastfeeding Relationships When Frontline Essential Working Mothers Return to Work During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Longitudinal Qualitative Online Study

IF 3.4 3区医学 Q1 NURSING Journal of Advanced Nursing Pub Date : 2025-02-06 DOI:10.1111/jan.16793

Natsuko K. Wood, Kathleen R. Helfrich-Miller

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Aims

Many frontline essential working mothers returned to work outside of the home after maternity leave during the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of this study is to describe the changes in breastfeeding relationships.

Design

A longitudinal descriptive qualitative design was used.

Methods

Four open-ended questions were asked to explore breastfeeding experiences at home, mothers' thoughts and feelings during direct breastfeeding, strategies to solve their breastfeeding problems, and workplace breastfeeding support. Data were collected by an online survey at 1, 3, 5 and 6 months between June 2022 and August 2023. Data were analysed using inductive content analysis from 21 mothers in the United States who were directly breastfeeding at least once a day for the first 6 months. The trustworthiness of study results involved coding by consensus, peer debriefing, and maintenance of an audit trial.

Results

The core construct, “Changes in Breastfeeding Relationships When Frontline Essential Working Mothers Return to Work Outside of the Home” explained mothers' experience in four domains: (1) Breastfeeding changes, (2) Changes in sleep arrangements, (3) Social support to continue breastfeeding, and (4) Physical and emotional distress of mothers and infants.

Conclusion

Unrestricted direct breastfeeding upon reunion through the night along with co-sleeping was the strategy mothers used to restore breastfeeding relationships with their infants and continue direct breastfeeding. Scheduled feeding and solitary sleep resulted in less direct breastfeeding, had negative consequences such as low milk supply, slow infant weight gain, and maternal distress.

Impact

Even though frontline essential working mothers persevered with the complexities of their work during the COVID-19 pandemic, findings highlight challenges mothers faced with their breastfeeding experience. Nurses need to discuss with mothers expected challenges of less frequent direct breastfeeding along with emotional tolls while being separated from their infant and strategies to develop sustainable breastfeeding relationships and continuation of direct breastfeeding.

Patient or Public Contributions

None.

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COVID-19大流行期间一线重要职业母亲重返工作岗位时母乳喂养关系的变化：一项纵向定性在线研究

在2019冠状病毒病大流行期间，许多一线基本职业母亲在休完产假后重返工作岗位。本研究的目的是描述母乳喂养关系的变化。

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来源期刊

Journal of Advanced Nursing 医学-护理

CiteScore

6.40

自引率

7.90%

发文量

369

审稿时长

3 months

期刊介绍： The Journal of Advanced Nursing (JAN) contributes to the advancement of evidence-based nursing, midwifery and healthcare by disseminating high quality research and scholarship of contemporary relevance and with potential to advance knowledge for practice, education, management or policy. All JAN papers are required to have a sound scientific, evidential, theoretical or philosophical base and to be critical, questioning and scholarly in approach. As an international journal, JAN promotes diversity of research and scholarship in terms of culture, paradigm and healthcare context. For JAN’s worldwide readership, authors are expected to make clear the wider international relevance of their work and to demonstrate sensitivity to cultural considerations and differences.