Working women and breast-feeding: The experience of first-time mothers in an Italian town

Abstract

The aims of this article are to describe breast-feeding patterns in a sample of 141 Italian first-time mothers who had all done paid work during pregnancy, and to place these results in the context of Italian Maternity legislation. Data show a relatively high frequency of initiation and long duration of breast-feeding: 87% of mothers put the baby to the breast during their hospital stay; of the whole sample, 38% breast-fed for at least 24 weeks, and 33% for longer. Mothers who had resumed their job after the birth breast-fed longer than those who stayed at home. Type of job and working hours had no effect on breast-feeding duration, while post-partum leave did: the longer the leave, the longer mothers breast-feed.