ABSTRACT

Background: The global target 2030 for EBF is 70% but in Pakistan, only 37.7% of women exclusively breastfeed their children. There has been increase in female work force with diminished workplace breastfeeding support. Investigating the barriers and finding possible initiatives to assist working mothers is needed.

Objective: To highlight and compare the factors affecting exclusive breastfeeding practices among working and non-working women living in various parts of Islamabad.

Methodology: A descriptive, cross-sectional study, carried out from March-August, 2019, using a self-constructed questionnaire with a sample size of 100 mothers belonging to all aspects of society and ethnicity. Data was analysed using SPSS.

Results: In the study population, 26.5% of working and 75.5% of non-working women exclusively breast fed their babies. The main reason for decline of EBF among working women was the compulsion to return to their jobs soon after delivery and non-working women found EBF as too tiring along with breast tenderness. Conclusion: EBF practices were found to be significantly more common in non-working mothers.Better maternity leave periods and timings, combined with breastfeeding friendly environment to facilitate working mothers can help tackle the enigmatic issue of mothers not continuing EBF with full commitment.

Key words: Exclusive breast feeding, working women, housewives