title: The impact of rotating night shifts on the breast milk collection volume among employed breastfeeding mothers.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The health benefits of breastfeeding are widely recognized. The World Health Organization recommends exclusive breastfeeding for six months after birth and for two years or longer together with nutritionally adequate complementary foods. To respond to the needs of industry, employed breastfeeding mothers must adapt to the rotating night shift (RNS). However, the RNS is associated with a higher risk of health problems in career women. We investigated the relationship between the RNS and breast milk volume.
  
  
  METHODS
  Mothers who used a breastfeeding room while working at a technology company in Taiwan voluntarily participated in this study from March 1 through April 30, 2013. We compared two groups: breastfeeding mothers on (RNS(+)) and not on a RNS (RNS(-)) to determine independent predictors for breast milk volume. We analyzed data from 109 participants: RNS(+) group n=56; RNS(-) group n=53.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There was no significant difference in daily milk collection volume between the groups. Daily milk collection frequency and exclusive breastfeeding were independent predictors for a daily breast milk collection volume >350 ml.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The RNS may not affect the breast milk volume. This result may help the government and employers make policies more appropriate for supporting employed breastfeeding mothers.
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, Chi-Mei Medical Center, Taiwan; Department of Child Care and Education, Southern Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taiwan; Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan; Department of Emergency Medicine, Kuo General Hospital, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Chien-Cheng
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Min-Hsien
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.forename: Hung-Jung
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Shio-Jean
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: How-Ran
authors.initials: HR
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.forename: Hsien-Yi
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Shih-Bin
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Su
authors.forename: Chien-Chin
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Hsu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001942:Breast Feeding; D061186:Breast Milk Expression / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004651:Employment; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D009035:Mothers; D013624:Taiwan; D013997:Time Factors; D014931:Women, Working; D014940:Work Schedule Tolerance / Q000502:physiology*