• Tae Hyeong Kim, Sung-Hoon Chung, Jun Hwan Kim, Youngmin Ahn, Son Moon Shin, Woo Ryoung Lee, Eui Kyung Choi, Juyoung Lee, Hye-Jung Shin, Euiseok Jung, Ju Sun Heo, Jin A Lee, Soon Min Lee, Seong Phil Bae, Jeonglyn Song, Chae-Young Kim, and Dae Yong Yi.
• Department of Pediatrics, Kyung Hee University Hospital at Gangdong, Seoul, Korea.
• J. Korean Med. Sci. 2022 Apr 18; 37 (15): e120.

BackgroundHuman breast milk is essential and provides irreplaceable nutrients for early humans. However, breastfeeding is not easy for various reasons in medical institution environments. Therefore, in order to improve the breastfeeding environment, we investigated the difficult reality of breastfeeding through questionnaire responses from medical institution workers.MethodsA survey was conducted among 179 medical institution workers with experience in childbirth within the last five years. The survey results of 175 people were analyzed, with incoherent answers excluded.ResultsOf the 175 people surveyed, a total of 108 people (61.7%) worked during the day, and 33 people (18.9%) worked in three shifts. Among 133 mothers who stayed with their babies in the same nursing room, 111 (93.3%) kept breastfeeding for more than a month, but among those who stayed apart, only 10 (71.4%) continued breastfeeding for more than a month (P = 0.024). Ninety-five (88.0%) of daytime workers, 32 (94.1%) two-shift workers, and 33 (100%) three-shift workers continued breastfeeding for more than a month (P = 0.026). Workers in general hospitals tended to breastfeed for significantly longer than those that worked in tertiary hospitals (P = 0.003). A difference was also noted between occupation categories (P = 0.019), but a more significant difference was found in the comparison between nurses and doctors (P = 0.012). Longer breastfeeding periods were noted when mothers worked three shifts (P = 0.037). Depending on the period planned for breastfeeding prior to childbirth, the actual breastfeeding maintenance period after birth showed a significant difference (P = 0.002). Of 112 mothers who responded to the question regarding difficulties in breastfeeding after returning to work, 87 (77.7%) mentioned a lack of time caused by being busy at work, 82 (73.2%) mentioned the need for places and appropriate circumstances.ConclusionIn medical institutions, it is recommended that environmental improvements in medical institutions, the implementation of supporting policies, and the provision of specialized education on breastfeeding are necessary to promote breastfeeding.© 2022 The Korean Academy of Medical Sciences.

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