Northern Ontario School of Medicine, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada.
Breastfeed Med. 2021 Jul;16(7):511-515. doi: 10.1089/bfm.2020.0331. Epub 2021 Mar 15.
Lactation is a normal postpartum physiological process that can continue in excess of 3 years and is often the sole nutritional source for infants in the first 6 months of life. Breastfeeding not only provides infant nutrition, but also facilitates maternal-infantile bonding. Lactating mothers separated from their children face multiple challenges in finding and accessing appropriate spaces and time for milk expression. Maternal employment is a great barrier to breastfeeding and accordingly has led to multiple advancements in the area of breastfeeding policy. One example of a policy is the Baby-Friendly Initiative. This initiative focused on breastfeeding promotion, support, and protection. However, the impact of such campaigns on lactating medical students and residents is thought to be low. Furthermore, breastfeeding rates differ vastly according to geographic locations in North America. Trends indicate decreased rates of breastfeeding in northern rural areas in comparison with southern urban counterparts. This highlights the need for increased protection, support, and creation of safe-lactation spaces for all working mothers including medical students and residents, and especially those in rural areas. To review challenges of breastfeeding as a medical trainee and delineate the creation of a lactation policy for medical learners and residents. We conducted a literature review of breastfeeding policy and experiences of breastfeeding while in the learning environment. Challenges of breastfeeding in medical school and residency include the complex, high-paced medical working environment where taking breaks or time off is often difficult. Few medical schools across North America have any breastfeeding policy. The Northern Ontario School of Medicine's lactation policy serves as a possible solution to the barriers medical students and residents face when breastfeeding in the academic environment. This policy creates lactation-friendly medical learning spaces through the entitlement of dedicated space and time for milk expression.
哺乳是一种正常的产后生理过程，可以持续超过 3 年，通常是婴儿生命的前 6 个月的唯一营养来源。母乳喂养不仅为婴儿提供营养，还有助于母婴结合。与孩子分离的哺乳期母亲在寻找和获得适当的挤奶空间和时间方面面临着多种挑战。母亲就业是母乳喂养的一大障碍，因此在母乳喂养政策领域取得了多项进展。母乳喂养政策的一个例子是婴儿友好倡议。该倡议侧重于促进、支持和保护母乳喂养。然而，人们认为此类活动对哺乳期医学生和住院医师的影响较低。此外，北美的地理位置不同，母乳喂养率也有很大差异。趋势表明，与南部城市相比，北部农村地区母乳喂养率下降。这突出表明需要为包括医学生和住院医师在内的所有职业母亲增加保护、支持和创造安全的哺乳空间，尤其是在农村地区。 审查作为医学受训者母乳喂养的挑战，并制定针对医学学习者和住院医师的母乳喂养政策。 我们对母乳喂养政策和在学习环境中母乳喂养的经验进行了文献回顾。 医学学校和住院医师期间母乳喂养的挑战包括复杂、快节奏的医疗工作环境，在这种环境下，休息或请假往往很困难。北美的少数医学院校有任何母乳喂养政策。 安大略省北部医学院的哺乳政策为医学生和住院医师在学术环境中母乳喂养时面临的障碍提供了一个可能的解决方案。该政策通过为专门的挤奶空间和时间提供权利，创造了有利于哺乳的医学学习空间。
