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Effect of Breastfeeding-Friendly Workplace Education on Breastfeeding Support Practices among Working Mothers in Nigeria

Abstract

Breastfeeding is an important component of maternal and child health and provides nutritional, immunological, developmental, and health benefits for infants and mothers. Working mothers in Nigeria may experience difficulties maintaining breastfeeding after returning to work because of limited workplace support, inadequate breastfeeding or milk-expression facilities, inflexible work schedules, lack of private spaces, insufficient maternity protection, limited knowledge among employers and colleagues, and concerns about expressing and storing breast milk at work. These challenges may make it difficult for working mothers to continue recommended breastfeeding practices. Breastfeeding-friendly workplace education provides an opportunity to improve employers', supervisors', colleagues', and working mothers' understanding of workplace breastfeeding support and appropriate measures for facilitating breastfeeding and breast milk expression. Against this background, this study investigates the effect of breastfeeding-friendly workplace education on breastfeeding support practices among working mothers in Nigeria. The study will be anchored on the Health Belief Model, Social Ecological Model, and Social Cognitive Theory. The Health Belief Model explains how working mothers' perceptions of the benefits of breastfeeding, perceived barriers to continuing breastfeeding at work, self-efficacy, and cues to action may influence their use of available workplace support. The Social Ecological Model emphasizes the influence of individual, interpersonal, workplace, organizational, community, and policy factors on breastfeeding support and continuation. Social Cognitive Theory emphasizes observational learning, self-efficacy, reinforcement, social support, and environmental influences in shaping breastfeeding-related behaviours. Collectively, these theoretical perspectives provide a suitable framework for explaining how breastfeeding-friendly workplace education may influence breastfeeding support practices among working mothers in Nigeria. The study will adopt a quantitative quasi-experimental or analytical cross-sectional research design. The study population will comprise working mothers with breastfeeding infants employed in selected public and private organizations across Nigeria. A multistage sampling technique will be used to select geopolitical zones, states, organizations, workplaces, departments or units, and eligible working mothers. Breastfeeding-friendly workplace education will be assessed using indicators such as exposure to workplace breastfeeding education sessions, frequency and duration of education, information on breastfeeding benefits, workplace breastfeeding policies, maternity protection, breastfeeding breaks, breast milk expression, safe breast milk storage, availability of private breastfeeding or milk-expression spaces, workplace attitudes, supervisor support, colleague support, and appropriate referral to breastfeeding or maternal-health services. Breastfeeding support practices will be assessed using indicators such as availability and use of breastfeeding breaks, access to private spaces for breastfeeding or expressing milk, ability to express breast milk during working hours, appropriate storage of expressed breast milk, use of workplace breastfeeding facilities, supervisor accommodation of breastfeeding needs, colleague support, adherence to relevant workplace breastfeeding policies, and continuation of breastfeeding after returning to work. Data will be collected using structured questionnaires, standardized breastfeeding-support assessment tools, workplace observation checklists, organizational policy documents where available, and pre-test and post-test assessments where a quasi-experimental intervention is adopted. Descriptive statistics will be used to summarize mothers' demographic and employment characteristics, infant characteristics, breastfeeding experiences, workplace conditions, education exposure, and breastfeeding-support practices. Inferential statistical techniques, including chi-square tests, paired and independent t-tests, correlation analysis, and logistic or multiple regression analysis where appropriate, will be used to determine the effect of breastfeeding-friendly workplace education on breastfeeding support practices. Where a quasi-experimental design is adopted, breastfeeding-support practice scores before and after the educational intervention may be compared with those of a comparison group to determine changes associated with the intervention. Diagnostic tests will also be conducted to assess the reliability, validity, and robustness of the findings. The study is expected to find that breastfeeding-friendly workplace education has a significant positive effect on breastfeeding support practices among working mothers in Nigeria. Working mothers exposed to structured, practical, and workplace-specific education are expected to report better access to and use of breastfeeding support than mothers without comparable exposure. Education may improve mothers' knowledge of available workplace support and increase employers' and supervisors' understanding of the practical needs associated with breastfeeding and breast milk expression. It may encourage the provision and appropriate use of breastfeeding breaks, private spaces, breast milk expression facilities, safe storage arrangements, and supportive workplace policies. Education may also reduce stigma and embarrassment associated with breastfeeding or expressing breast milk at work and strengthen communication between mothers, supervisors, and colleagues. However, long working hours, inadequate workplace facilities, limited maternity protection, unsupportive organizational cultures, lack of private spaces, workload pressures, and limited financial resources may reduce the effectiveness of education alone. The study therefore expects accessible, sustained, workplace-specific, and supportive breastfeeding education, combined with appropriate workplace policies and facilities, to contribute significantly to improved breastfeeding support practices among working mothers in Nigeria. The study is expected to contribute to the literature on breastfeeding support, breastfeeding-friendly workplaces, maternal and child health, working mothers, workplace health promotion, infant feeding, breast milk expression, occupational health, health education, and public health in Nigeria. The findings will provide useful information to the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, Federal Ministry of Women Affairs, employers, human-resource departments, workplace health services, healthcare professionals, maternal and child health programmes, labour organizations, development partners, and policymakers regarding strategies for supporting breastfeeding among working women. The study will also provide evidence-based recommendations for strengthening workplace breastfeeding education, improving access to breastfeeding and breast milk-expression facilities, promoting supportive workplace policies, increasing supervisor and colleague awareness, improving maternity and breastfeeding support, and developing sustainable breastfeeding-friendly workplace interventions that enable working mothers to continue breastfeeding while maintaining employment across Nigeria.

Keywords: Breastfeeding-friendly workplace education, breastfeeding support practices, working mothers, breastfeeding, breast milk expression, workplace support, maternal and child health, infant feeding, workplace health promotion, Nigeria, public health.