Psychological processes in women who decided to stop breastfeeding upon returning to work

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to clarify the psychological processes that occur in women who decide to stop breastfeeding when they return to work, and choose to explore the breastfeeding support options that are preferable for working women.

Participants and Methods

The WHO recommends that infants are exclusively breastfed up to six months of age and that breastfeeding is continued up to two years of age. In the present study, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 mothers who had carried to their full term and had given birth to a baby weighing a minimum of 2500g. The interview participants were women who had breastfed their babies after giving birth, but had decided to stop breastfeeding when they returned to work after a period of less than two years of continuous breastfeeding. The results were analyzed using the modified grounded theory approach (M-GTA).

Results

Eight categories and 18 concepts were generated, relating to the psychological processes of women who decided to stop breastfeeding upon returning to work. While the participants wanted to continue breastfeeding after returning to work, however, before they had returned to work, they gradually came to feel anxious about balancing work with night-time breastfeeding because of the difficulty of night-time breastfeeding after returning to work. Participants also developed a perception from others' opinions that they should stop breastfeeding, and therefore, began to reconsider the necessity of breastfeeding and experienced resistance to breastfeeding as the child grew. However, when participants attempted to start the process of weaning, they had an indistinct sense of anxiety about stopping breastfeeding and felt pain caused by stopping breastfeeding. In addition, because some participants desired to continue breastfeeding, they felt sadness about stopping breastfeeding, and sometimes had feelings of conflict about the same. Because of this, some participants would involuntarily respond to what the child wanted because of their feelings of guilt toward the child, while others experienced feelings of guilt about their decision to stop breastfeeding. Despite these repeated conflicts, participants who had made a firm decision and commitment to stop breastfeeding approached the weaning process with a strong resolution to not compromise. Finally, when they had completely weaned their child, participants accepted their decision to stop breastfeeding.

Conclusion

The findings suggested that, in order to provide breastfeeding support that is preferable for working women, it is important to respect the agency of working women, whether they choose to continue breastfeeding or stop breastfeeding, and to support women in choosing and accepting their own breastfeeding method.