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Longer shared parental leave is associated with longer duration of breastfeeding: a cross-sectional study among Swedish mothers and their partners.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:Breastfeeding is associated with health benefits for both the mother and infant and is therefore important to support; moreover, parental leave is a beneficial factor for breastfeeding. The Swedish parental leave is generous, allowing each parent to take 90?days; additionally, a further 300?days can be taken by either parent. Generally, mothers take 70% of the parental leave days, mainly during the first year. However, breastfeeding duration has declined in the last decade, and it is not known how shared parental leave is associated with the duration of breastfeeding. AIM:To investigate how parental leave is associated with the duration of exclusive and partial breastfeeding of the infant during the first 12?months after birth. An additional aim was to describe infants' and parents' characteristics and mode of birth in association with the duration of exclusive and partial breastfeeding. METHODS:This cross-sectional study was part of the Swedish Pregnancy Planning Study, conducted in Sweden in 2012-2015. The parents were recruited at 153 antenatal clinics in nine counties. In total, 813 couples completed a follow-up questionnaire 1 year after birth. Linear regression models were used to analyse the association between parental leave and the duration of breastfeeding. RESULTS:Infants were exclusively breastfed for, on average, 2.5?months (range 0-12?months) and partially breastfed, on average, 7?months (range 0-12?months). Most of the parental leave was taken by the mother (mean?=?10.9?months) during the infant's first 12?months, while the partner took 3?months, on average. The parental leave (used and planned) during the infant's first 24?months were, on average, 21?months. In the multivariate linear regression analysis, mothers' and partners' high level of education (p?

SUBMITTER: Grandahl M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7155253 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Longer shared parental leave is associated with longer duration of breastfeeding: a cross-sectional study among Swedish mothers and their partners.

Grandahl Maria M Stern Jenny J Funkquist Eva-Lotta EL

BMC pediatrics 20200414 1

<h4>Background</h4>Breastfeeding is associated with health benefits for both the mother and infant and is therefore important to support; moreover, parental leave is a beneficial factor for breastfeeding. The Swedish parental leave is generous, allowing each parent to take 90 days; additionally, a further 300 days can be taken by either parent. Generally, mothers take 70% of the parental leave days, mainly during the first year. However, breastfeeding duration has declined in the last decade, an ...[more]

PMID: 32290823

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Project description:Objectives:Many women do not reach their own breastfeeding goals regarding duration of breastfeeding. Different factors influence breastfeeding, and to learn more about breastfeeding within a multidimensional and longitudinal perspective, further research is needed. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate diverse factors correlated with first-time mothers' enjoyment of breastfeeding and breastfeeding duration, between childbirth and two years after birth. Methods:In a prospective longitudinal cohort study, 324 newly become mothers were followed. The Spearman correlation test was used to investigate factors correlated with the degree to which mothers enjoy breastfeeding and the duration of breastfeeding. The Mann-Whitney test was conducted for comparisons of demographic characteristics between mothers who did or did not breastfeed. Results:Among the mothers, 99.2% initiated breastfeeding after birth. Frequencies of breastfeeding were 54.8% at six months, 9.1% at one year, and 1.0% at two years. The degree to which the mother enjoyed breastfeeding was correlated positively with (1) the duration of breastfeeding, (2) more positive feelings for and relation to the child, (3) the partner's perceived relation to the child, (4) a higher sense of coherence, and (5) stronger perceived parental couple's relationship. Longer breastfeeding duration was correlated positively with (1) a higher degree of enjoyment of breastfeeding, (2) more positive relation to the child, and (3) stronger perceived parental couple's relationship. Additionally, breastfeeding during the first two hours after birth, more positive feelings for and relation to the child, and a higher degree of enjoyment of breastfeeding were more frequently reported among breastfeeding mothers, in comparison with not breastfeeding mothers. Conclusion:Mothers' subjective experience from breastfeeding, sense of coherence, and couple relationship with partner and relationship with the child are valuable factors in regard to breastfeeding.

Project description:IntroductionSweden has long been praised for a generous parental leave policy oriented towards facilitating a gender-equitable approach to work and parenting. Yet certain aspects of Swedish parental leave could also be responsible for the maintenance of (or even the increase in) health inequalities. Using a 'Health in All Policies' lens, this research project aims to assess the unintended health consequences of various components of Sweden's parental leave policy, including eligibility for and uptake of earnings based benefits.Methods and analysisWe will use individual-level data from multiple Swedish registers. Sociodemographic information, including parental leave use, will be retrieved from the total population register, Longitudinal Integration Database for Health Insurance and Labour Market Studies and Social Insurance Agency registers. Health information for parents and children will be retrieved from the patient, prescribed drug, cause of death, medical birth and children's health registers. We will evaluate parents' mental, mothers' reproductive and children's general health outcomes in relation to several policy reforms aiming to protect parental leave benefits in short birth spacing (the speed premium) and to promote father's uptake (the father's quota) and sharing of parental leave days (the double days reform). We will also examine effects of increases in basic parental leave benefit levels. Using quasi-experimental designs, we will compare health outcomes across these reforms and eligibility thresholds with interrupted time series, difference-in-difference and regression discontinuity approaches to reduce the risk of health selection and assess causality in the link between parental leave use and health.Ethics and disseminationThis project has been granted all necessary ethical permissions from the Stockholm Regional Ethical Review Board (Dnr 2019-04913) for accessing and analysing deidentified data. The final outputs will primarily be disseminated as scientific articles published in open-access, high-impact peer-reviewed international journals, as well as press releases and policy briefs.

Project description:Background and purposeA uniform policy on parental leave in radiology training programs is lacking. Although previous publications have addressed the status of parental leave policy among radiology residency programs, the state of parental leave in radiology fellowships has not been addressed to date. Our aim was to determine the state of parental leave policies in American neuroradiology fellowship programs.Materials and methodsAn Internet survey was sent to the directors of neuroradiology fellowship programs listed on the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education Web site (n = 87) in January 2020. The questionnaire assessed the policies of the fellowship programs and Program Directors' attitudes toward maternal and paternal leave. Four reminders were sent during the 3 weeks before closing data collection.ResultsThe response rate was 76% (66/87). Ninety-four percent (62/66) of program directors claimed to have a maternal leave policy, of which 51/62 (82%) were written and 53/62 (85%) were paid. Additionally, 77% (51/66) had a policy for paternal leave, of which 80% (41/51) were written and 76% (39/51) were paid. The average length of paid leave was 6.7 ± 3.25 weeks for new mothers and 2.9 ± 2 weeks for new fathers. Unpaid leave was mostly based on the Family and Medical Leave Act. Fellows were responsible for making up call duties during the parental leave in 47% of the programs. Radiation exposure was restricted in 89% of the programs during pregnancy. Policies addressed breast feeding and untraditional parenthood in just 41% of the responding programs. Most program directors supported the development of a unified national policy on maternal (83%) and paternal (79%) leave.ConclusionsMost neuroradiology fellowship programs have explicit maternal and paternal leave policies that grant paid leave to trainees. Some also offer unpaid leave, mostly through Family and Medical Leave Act guidelines. A uniform policy derived from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education and/or American Board of Radiology would be useful and overwhelmingly accepted.

Project description:ImportanceBenchmarking attitudes surrounding parental leave among posttraining North American ophthalmologists may reveal possible areas for intervention.ObjectiveTo evaluate perceptions of current parental leave policy and culture among posttraining North American ophthalmologists.Design, setting, and participantsThis nonvalidated survey used a 19-item online questionnaire. A convenience sample of 186 self-identified North American-based ophthalmologists who had completed training was obtained using listservs, residency program coordinators, and social media. Data collection occurred from May to July 2022.Main outcomes and measuresDescriptive analysis demonstrated response frequencies. Pearson χ2 comparison of means was performed for categorical variables. Two-tailed t tests were performed for continuous variables.ResultsAmong the 186 surveys completed, 105 respondents (56.5%) identified as female, 76 (40.9%) worked in academia, 133 (71.5%) were 1 to 20 years out of training, and 156 (83.9%) had children. Attitudes toward stop-the-clock policies, or delays in tenure/promotion/partnership review when taking leave, were mixed. Of 171 respondents, 78 (45.6%) thought that stop-the-clock policies should be optional, 39 (22.8%) thought that they should be required, and 31 (18.1%) thought that they should be removed. Of 76 academicians responding, 56 (73.7%) and 49 (64.5%) were unaware if their institution had a stop-the-clock policy for tenure review or promotion review, respectively. Male and female respondents differed in feeling comfortable with taking leave (36 of 66 [54.5%] vs 67 of 90 [74.4%], respectively; P = .04), as well as in their ratings of stress about peer perception on a scale of 0 to 10 (3.70 vs 4.81, respectively; P = .05). Private practitioners and academicians differed in confirmation of leave options for both parents (52 of 101 [51.5%] vs 49 of 69 [71.0%], respectively; P = .02) and ratings of financial stress (7.10 vs 5.43, respectively; P = .004) and research considerations (1.60 vs 3.85, respectively; P < .001).Conclusions and relevanceResults of this survey study support the hypothesis that demographic factors affect attitudes toward parental leave among posttraining ophthalmologists; policies could be better publicized. Feelings regarding policies and leave were mixed. These findings should be viewed as hypothesis generating because the survey was not validated and the associations provided could be due to confounding factors.

Project description:BackgroundBreastfeeding has the most profound impact on infant health and wellness, and also have significant implications for the mother. The duration of the breastfeeding determines the infant's protection from malnutrition and other common infectious diseases; consequently, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) six months, followed by gradual weaning and breastfeeding until the baby is two years old. In Pakistan, the practice of breastfeeding is heavily dependent upon certain demographic, economic, social, and biological factors, which ultimately impact the quality of care provided to the infant and their health. The aim of this paper, therefore, is to measure the impact of these factors on the exclusive breastfeeding duration in Pakistan.MethodsThe data for the study has been collected from Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey (PDHS) for the year 2017-18. Binary logistic regression model and survival analysis are used to determine the relationship between the independent and dependent variables.ResultsWe use a binary logistic regression to estimate the effect of each factor on the duration of EBF. The binary logistic regression finds significant relationships between region, maternal education, wealth index, size of a child, watching television, delivery by cesarean, and maternal age and EBF. We then use log-likelihood, AIC, BIC criteria to determine if a parametric or non-parametric model would provide a better fit; based on these results we fit an Inverse Gaussian (Weibull) distribution for the survival analysis. These results show that there are more significant factors associated with EBF duration in parametric survival analysis than in the binary logistic regression results. Thus, the survival analysis is a better method for predicting the relationship between the duration of EBF and its factors. Furthermore, logically EBF is designated to be done for six months which would not be properly gauged with a binary response variable.ConclusionsThe results of this study provide proof that exclusive breastfeeding is a common practice among women in Pakistan, and to improve the quality of post-natal care, health policy in the country needs to focus on the existing demographic and social factors which are found significant in this study.

Project description:BackgroundChildren need good nutrition to develop proper immune mechanisms and psychosocial maturity, but malnutrition can affect their ability to realize this. Apart from the national demographic and health survey, which is carried out every 5 years, there have not been enough documented studies on child breastfeeding and weaning practices of caregivers in the Volta Region. We, therefore, examined child breastfeeding and weaning practices of mothers in the Volta Region of Ghana.MethodsA sub-national survey method was adopted and a semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect data from 396 mothers and their children. Descriptive and inferential statistics comprising frequency, percentage, chi-square, and logistic regression were employed in analysing the data. We defined exclusive breastfeeding as given only breast milk to an infant from a mother or a wet nurse for six months of life except drops or syrups consisting of vitamins, minerals, supplements, or medicines on medical advice, and prolonged breastfeeding as breastfeeding up to 24 months of age.ResultsThe prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) was 43.7%. Mothers constituting 61.1% started breastfeeding within an hour of giving birth. In addition to breast milk, 5.1% gave fluids to their children on the first day of birth. About 66.4% started complementary feeding at 6 months, 22.0% breastfed for 24 months or beyond, while 40.4% fed their children on-demand. Child's age (AOR: 0.23, 95% CI:0.12-0.43, p<0.0001), prolonged breastfeeding (AOR: 0.41, 95%CI: 0.12-0.87, p = 0.001), mother's religion (AOR: 3.92, 95%CI: 1.23-12.61, p = 0.021), feeding practices counselled on (AOR: 1.72, 95%CI: 1.96-3.09, p = 0.023), mother ever heard about EBF (AOR: 0.43, 95%CI: 1.45-2.41, p = 0.039), child being fed from the bottle with a nipple (AOR: 1.53, 95%CI: 1.94-2.48, p = 0.003), and age at which complementary feeding was started (AOR: 17.43, 95%CI: 3.47-87.55, p = 0.008) were statistically associated with EBF.ConclusionBreastfeeding education has been ongoing for decades, yet there are still gaps in the breastfeeding practices of mothers. To accelerate progress towards attainment of the sustainable development goal 3 of ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being for all at all ages by the year 2030, we recommend innovative policies that include extensive public education to improve upon the breastfeeding and weaning practices of mothers.

Dataset Information

Longer shared parental leave is associated with longer duration of breastfeeding: a cross-sectional study among Swedish mothers and their partners.

Publications

Longer shared parental leave is associated with longer duration of breastfeeding: a cross-sectional study among Swedish mothers and their partners.

Similar Datasets

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