title: Employee perception of breastfeeding-friendly support and benefits of breastfeeding as a predictor of intention to use breast-pumping breaks after returning to work among employed mothers.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Although increasing numbers of large companies are complying with demands for a breastfeeding-friendly workplace by providing lactation rooms and breast-pumping breaks, the effectiveness for intention to use breast-pumping breaks to express breast milk among employed mothers is uncertain. To explore the impact of employees' perceived breastfeeding support from the workplace and the benefits of breastfeeding on a woman's intention to use breast-pumping breaks after returning to work, we conducted a survey at a female labor-intensive electronics manufacturer in Taiwan.
  
  
  METHODS
  A structured questionnaire survey was administered to 715 working mothers employed in an electronics manufacturing plant in Tainan Science Park in Southern Taiwan. Questionnaire content included female employee demographics, employment characteristics, and breastfeeding behavior after returning to work, as well as employees' perception of breastfeeding-friendly support and awareness of the benefits of breastfeeding when raising their most recently born child.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Higher education (odds ratio [OR] 2.33), non-clean room worksite (OR 1.51), awareness of breast-pumping breaks (OR 4.70), encouragement by colleagues to use breast-pumping breaks (OR 1.76), and greater awareness of the benefits of breastfeeding (OR 1.08) were significant predictors of the use of breast-pumping breaks after returning to work, whereas the perception of inefficiency when using breast-pumping breaks reduced an employed mother's intention to use breast-pumping breaks (OR 0.55).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study finds an association between an appreciation of the benefits provided by the employer and the likelihood of increased usage of breastfeeding breaks. Workplaces and employers can help employed mothers to understand the benefits of breastfeeding, which may increase the intention of the mother to take breast-pumping breaks after returning to work.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Management, I-Shou University , Kaohsiung, Taiwan .
authors.forename: Su-Ying
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Tsai
mesh_terms: D001942:Breast Feeding / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D061186:Breast Milk Expression; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007221:Industry / Q000458:organization & administration; D033182:Intention; D009035:Mothers / Q000193:education / Q000523:psychology; D016134:Organizational Policy; D010465:Perception; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012944:Social Support; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013624:Taiwan / Q000453:epidemiology; D014931:Women, Working / Q000193:education* / Q000523:psychology*; D017132:Workplace / Q000523:psychology*