Introduction: The primary reason that compels working mothers to decrease their
ability to continue to breastfeeding successfully is their return to work. Attempts
to continue breastfeeding at work encounters several difficulties. This study
aims to provide an overview of the workplace environment and how facilities at
the workplace affect breastfeeding in Indonesia. Methods: We used a qualitative
approach to provide a detailed picture of the influence of workplace support for
working mothers to perform breastfeeding. We enrolled working mothers (n=18)
in Jakarta, as participants and obtained the following information from them:
parity, type of family and type of work. Results: The findings provided the general
overview of the workplace environment and identified three factors that affected
breastfeeding: seeking information during pregnancy, expression of breast milk at
office facilities and the problem faced by working mothers. Conclusion: Although
the breastfeeding performance of most working mothers in this study comprised
exclusive breastfeeding, some fed their infants with formula milk. This study
suggests that working mothers who continue to breastfeed after returning to work
need the support of their employers, co-workers and others in the workplace to
ensure the provision of health facilities and the protection and dissemination the
rights of breastfeeding working mothers that might lead them to discontinue their
breastfeeding practice.