Workplace Support and Breastfeeding Duration Among Registered Nurses: A Cross-Sectional Study

Breastfeeding benefits both mothers and infants, but maternal employment can shorten its duration. There are limited data on workplace support for breastfeeding and pumping among registered nurses (RNs), who are predominantly women of childbearing age.

This study examined the association between workplace support and breastfeeding duration among RNs currently or previously pregnant in the United States.

We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of survey data from 89 RNs. Linear regression assessed breastfeeding duration and workplace support levels (low, moderate, high) for operational, managerial, coworker, time, physical environment, and an overall composite score.

On a scale from 0 to 100, operational support scored highest (69.7), whereas coworker and managerial support scored lowest (34.6 and 15.4, respectively). High overall workplace support was significantly associated with 4.7 months longer breastfeeding compared with low support (coefficient: 4.73; 95% CI: 1.17-8.29). Among the workplace support domains, physical environment support, such as equipment, place to store expressed breastmilk, and designated space, had the largest significant difference (coefficient: 4.26; 95% CI: 0.53-7.99).

RNs play a key role in promoting breastfeeding among new mothers, yet often lack workplace support to meet their own breastfeeding goals, potentially affecting their roles as breastfeeding champions and the length of their own breastfeeding. Therefore, implementing more comprehensive workplace support, including policies, physical environments, and interpersonal support, is imperative.