Sulaiman Zaharah, Liamputtong Pranee, Amir Lisa H
School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kelantan, Malaysia.
School of Science and Health, Western Sydney University, Penrith, New South Wales, Australia.
Health Soc Care Community. 2018 Jan;26(1):48-55. doi: 10.1111/hsc.12460. Epub 2017 May 30.
Nearly half of the working population in Malaysia are women, and with only a short period of maternity leave, they may struggle to achieve the recommended 6 months of exclusive breastfeeding. The aim of this paper was to explore the relationship between the timing of return to work and beliefs and breastfeeding practices among women in urban Malaysia. A qualitative inquiry based on a phenomenological framework and multiple methods was used: face-to-face interview, participant diary and researcher field notes. Data collection took place in Penang and the Klang Valley, Malaysia, from March to September 2011. Eligible participants were purposely identified at randomly selected recruitment sites. A thematic analysis method was used to develop the typologies and categories of the findings. A total of 40 working women with a mean age of 32 years (SD 3.4) were interviewed and 15 participated in the diary writing. Most women (75%) returned to work between 2 and 3 months. Only 10% returned to work 4 months or later postpartum, and 15% had an early return to work (defined here as less than 2 months). The women fell into three groups: Passionate women with a strong determination to breastfeed, who exclusively breastfed for 6 months; Ambivalent women, who commenced breastfeeding but were unable to sustain this after returning to work; and Equivalent women, who perceived formula feeding as equally nutritious as breast milk. Although longer maternity leave was very important for Ambivalent women to maintain breastfeeding, it was not as important for the Equivalent or Passionate women. In conclusion, returning earlier was not an absolute barrier to continuing breastfeeding. Instead, a woman's beliefs and perceptions of breastfeeding were more important than the timing of her return to work in determining her ability to maintain breastfeeding or breast milk feeding.
马来西亚近半数的劳动人口为女性，且产假时间较短，她们可能难以实现建议的6个月纯母乳喂养。本文旨在探讨马来西亚城市女性重返工作岗位的时间与母乳喂养观念及行为之间的关系。采用了基于现象学框架和多种方法的定性研究：面对面访谈、参与者日记和研究者实地记录。2011年3月至9月在马来西亚槟城和巴生谷进行了数据收集。在随机选择的招募地点特意挑选了符合条件的参与者。使用主题分析法对研究结果进行分类和归纳。共访谈了40名职业女性，她们的平均年龄为32岁（标准差3.4），15人参与了日记撰写。大多数女性（75%）在2至3个月之间重返工作岗位。只有10%的女性在产后4个月或更晚才重返工作岗位，15%的女性提前重返工作岗位（此处定义为少于2个月）。这些女性分为三组：有强烈母乳喂养决心的热情型女性，她们纯母乳喂养了6个月；矛盾型女性，她们开始了母乳喂养，但重返工作岗位后无法维持；等同型女性，她们认为配方奶喂养与母乳一样营养。尽管更长的产假对矛盾型女性维持母乳喂养非常重要，但对等同型或热情型女性来说并非如此。总之，提前重返工作岗位并非持续母乳喂养的绝对障碍。相反，在决定女性维持母乳喂养或母乳哺育的能力方面，女性对母乳喂养的信念和认知比其重返工作岗位的时间更为重要。
