Page 125 - Petelin, Ana, ur. 2024. Zdravje delovno aktivnih in starejših odraslih / Health of Working-Age and Older Adults. Zbornik povzetkov z recenzijo ▪︎ Book of Abstracts. Koper: Založba Univerze na Primorskem/University of Primorska Press

Information and Help with Breastfeeding in Maternity Hospitals:
Mothers’ Experiences and Suggestions

Zalka Drglin, Anja Bohinec
National Institute of Public Health, Ljubljana, Slovenia

Introduction: Lactation and breastfeeding are of paramount importance for children’s
and women’s health; it has been shown to reduce the risk of breast and ovarian can-
cer and high blood pressure of women. The WHO and UNICEF recommend that a
mother should latch her newborn to the breast within the first hour after birth. While
mothers with newborn babies are in the postnatal wards, they should be given all the
support and help they need to make breastfeeding as smooth as possible. Health pro-
fessionals should show mothers how to breastfeed, encourage them to breastfeed
whenever the baby needs, and only give the baby formula if there are medical reasons.
The IMAgiNE EURO international cross-sectional survey focuses on the quality of ma-
ternal and newborn care in maternity hospitals from the perspective of women, and
breastfeeding support is one of the important themes.
Methods: Data are collected using a structured online questionnaire based on WHO’s
40 quality indicators. We consider self-reports of women from 12 EU countries who
gave birth between 1 March 2020 and 14 March 2022. The Slovenian sample includes
2.354 women. We coded and analyzed responses to an open-ended question in a
questionnaire for mothers regarding breastfeeding-related suggestions for improving
the quality of care in the maternity hospital where she gave birth.
Results: Of the 479 open-ended responses from women who gave birth in Slovenian
maternity hospitals, around 15% related to breastfeeding; they are grouped into eight
categories: consistency of advice, knowledge of health professionals, attitudes, mater-
nal nutrition, nutrition of non-breastfed babies, informed choice, equipment. Moth-
ers report that they received too little help, advice and support; highlight inconsist-
ency of approaches and advice, and outdated, backward and inconsistent knowledge
of breastfeeding by health professionals, inadequate attitudes, inadequate nutrition of
breastfeeding mothers, inappropriate approaches to the nutrition of non-breastfed
infants, lack of informed choices about breastfeeding, lack of appropriate equipment
and utensils; and suggest improvements in all of the above areas.
Discussion and conclusion: Mothers need good quality information in pregnancy and problemi, izzivi in priložnosti na področju zdravja ... | concerns, challenges and opportunities in the health ...
practical support and help after birth, as well as the right conditions, as highlighted by
the mothers in the study. Their staying on maternity ward offers exceptional opportu-
nity to provide information, to resolve doubts and problems, and to provide concrete
individualised help to develop the skills needed for good breastfeeding. The knowl-
edge of all health professionals on the various aspects breastfeeding should be up-to-
date, they should be skilled in support and counselling, and the circumstances in which
they work should allow them to work in depth and compassionately with mothers in
their efforts to breastfeed their babies. This will contribute to positive effects on the
health and quality of life of children, mothers and families.
Keywords: breastfeeding, maternity hospital, mother, experience, support

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