scholarly journals Experiences of workplace breastfeeding in a provincial government setting: A qualitative exploratory study among managers and mothers in South Africa

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Prudence Bongekile Mabaso ◽  
Ameeta Jaga ◽  
Tanya Doherty
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Maternity Leave ◽  
Provincial Government ◽  
Work Experiences ◽  
Snowball Sampling ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Breastfeeding Support ◽  
Senior Managers ◽  
Major Barrier ◽  
Employed Mothers

Abstract Background: Return to employment is a major barrier to breastfeeding continuation, globally and in the Southern African context. The Lancet breastfeeding series revealed an explicit need for research exploring breastfeeding as a workplace issue in low- and middle-income countries. A dearth of research on workplace breastfeeding in South Africa calls for attention to this topic. This study sought to explore breastfeeding at work experiences from the perspective of employed mothers and senior managers in a provincial government setting in South Africa.Methods: The study adopted an exploratory qualitative design with multi-perspective semi-structured interviews. Snowball sampling was employed to recruit twelve participants, (n = 4) senior managers and (n = 8) employed mothers, from two provincial government departments in Cape Town, South Africa. Interviews were conducted between April and August 2018 to capture participants’ experiences with breastfeeding in the workplace. Thematic analysis was used to analyse data. Results: Four key themes that described breastfeeding at work experiences emerged which further traversed three critical maternity periods: pregnancy, maternity leave, and return to work. The prevalent themes were; knowledge about the legislation and breastfeeding support benefits, perceptions and experiences of breastfeeding in the workplace, barriers to breastfeeding continuation, and recommendations to improve breastfeeding support at work. Conclusion: Our study contributions emphasise that breastfeeding support from managers should begin prior to the mother taking maternity leave, and that in addition to infrastructural developments, immediate supervisor support may be critical in fostering breastfeeding friendly workplaces for working mothers. Implications for management for advancing support for breastfeeding at work in the public sector are presented.

scholarly journals Experiences of workplace breastfeeding in a provincial government setting: a qualitative exploratory study among managers and mothers in South Africa

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bongekile P. Mabaso ◽  
Ameeta Jaga ◽  
Tanya Doherty
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Return To Work ◽  
Maternity Leave ◽  
National Level ◽  
Provincial Government ◽  
Snowball Sampling ◽  
Breastfeeding Support ◽  
Senior Managers ◽  
Major Barrier ◽  
Employed Mothers

Abstract Background Return to employment is a major barrier to breastfeeding continuation, globally and in the Southern African context. The Lancet Breastfeeding Series revealed an explicit need for research exploring breastfeeding as a workplace issue in low- and middle-income countries. A dearth of research on workplace breastfeeding in South Africa calls for attention to this topic. This study sought to explore breastfeeding at work experiences from the perspective of employed mothers and senior managers in a provincial government setting in South Africa. Methods The study adopted an exploratory qualitative design with multi-perspective semi-structured interviews. Snowball sampling was employed to recruit twelve participants, senior managers (n = 4) and employed mothers (n = 8), from two provincial government departments in Cape Town, South Africa. Interviews were conducted between April and August 2018 to capture participants’ experiences with breastfeeding in the workplace. Thematic analysis was used to analyse data. Results Four key themes that described experiences of workplace breastfeeding emerged which further traversed three critical maternity periods: pregnancy, maternity leave, and return to work. The prevalent themes were: 1) Knowledge about the legislation and breastfeeding support benefits. Most participants only knew about the legislated four months maternity leave and time off for prenatal visits but lacked knowledge about comprehensive maternity benefits; 2) Perceptions and experiences of breastfeeding in the workplace. Breastfeeding was perceived to be a mother’s responsibility and a private issue. As a result, most participants stopped breastfeeding prior to or immediately upon return to work after maternity leave; 3) Barriers to breastfeeding continuation, such as the absence of a conversation about infant feeding plans between managers and mothers; and 4) Recommendations to improve breastfeeding support at work from an individual, organisational and national level. Conclusions Our study contributions emphasise that breastfeeding support from managers should begin prior to the mother taking maternity leave, and that in addition to providing supportive facilities (such as private space and breastmilk storage), immediate supervisor support may be critical in fostering breastfeeding-friendly workplaces for mothers. Management implications for advancing workplace breastfeeding support in the public sector are presented.

scholarly journals Experiences of workplace breastfeeding in a provincial government setting: A qualitative exploratory study among managers and mothers in South Africa

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Prudence Bongekile Mabaso ◽  
Ameeta Jaga ◽  
Tanya Doherty
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Return To Work ◽  
Maternity Leave ◽  
National Level ◽  
Provincial Government ◽  
Snowball Sampling ◽  
Breastfeeding Support ◽  
Senior Managers ◽  
Major Barrier ◽  
Employed Mothers

Abstract Background: Return to employment is a major barrier to breastfeeding continuation, globally and in the Southern African context. The Lancet breastfeeding series revealed an explicit need for research exploring breastfeeding as a workplace issue in low- and middle-income countries. A dearth of research on workplace breastfeeding in South Africa calls for attention to this topic. This study sought to explore breastfeeding at work experiences from the perspective of employed mothers and senior managers in a provincial government setting in South Africa. Methods: The study adopted an exploratory qualitative design with multi-perspective semi-structured interviews. Snowball sampling was employed to recruit twelve participants, senior managers (n = 4) and employed mothers (n = 8), from two provincial government departments in Cape Town, South Africa. Interviews were conducted between April and August 2018 to capture participants’ experiences with breastfeeding in the workplace. Thematic analysis was used to analyse data. Results: Four key themes that described experiences of workplace breastfeeding emerged which further traversed three critical maternity periods: pregnancy, maternity leave, and return to work. The prevalent themes were: 1) Knowledge about the legislation and breastfeeding support benefits. Most participants only knew about the legislated four months maternity leave and time off for prenatal visits but lacked knowledge about comprehensive maternity benefits; 2) Perceptions and experiences of breastfeeding in the workplace. Breastfeeding was perceived to be a mother’s responsibility and a private issue. As a result, most participants stopped breastfeeding prior to or immediately upon return to work after maternity leave; 3) Barriers to breastfeeding continuation, such as the absence of a conversation about infant feeding plans between managers and mothers; and 4) Recommendations to improve breastfeeding support at work from an individual, organisational and national level. Conclusion: Our study contributions emphasise that breastfeeding support from managers should begin prior to the mother taking maternity leave, and that in addition to providing supportive facilities (such as private space and breastmilk storage), immediate supervisor support may be critical in fostering breastfeeding-friendly workplaces for mothers. Management implications for advancing workplace breastfeeding support in the public sector are presented.

scholarly journals Supporting breastfeeding at work in a public sector setting: A qualitative exploratory study among managers and employed mothers

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Prudence Bongekile Mabaso ◽  
Ameeta Jaga ◽  
Tanya Doherty
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Public Sector ◽  
Maternity Leave ◽  
Provincial Government ◽  
Work Family Conflict ◽  
Breastfeeding Support ◽  
Senior Managers ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Major Barrier ◽  
Employed Mothers

Abstract Background: Return to employment is a major barrier to breastfeeding continuation, globally and in the Southern African context. The Lancet breastfeeding series revealed an explicit need for research exploring breastfeeding as a workplace issue in low- and middle-income countries. A dearth of research on workplace breastfeeding in South Africa, and limited awareness about legislation to protect breastfeeding employees, calls for attention to this topic. Methods: This qualitative study explored experiences of workplace breastfeeding amongst employed mothers and senior managers in two provincial government departments in South Africa. Twelve in-depth interviews were conducted with senior managers ( n = 4) and employed mothers ( n = 8). Results: Thematic analysis of the data revealed findings important to understanding mothers’ decisions about breastfeeding at work, across three critical maternity periods: 1) During pregnancy: poor knowledge about comprehensive maternity benefits and an absence of a conversation on infant feeding plans with managers meant mothers were disempowered to make informed choices about breastfeeding at work; 2) During maternity leave: stress from anticipated work-family conflict and logistical considerations influenced mothers’ decisions to wean infants; and 3) Upon return to work: mothers experienced a lack of workplace infrastructural support for breastfeeding. Conclusion: Our study contributions emphasise that breastfeeding support from managers should begin prior to the mother taking maternity leave. Immediate supervisors were found to be an important but overlooked agent to enforce legislation and provide breastfeeding support. Implications for management for advancing support for breastfeeding at work in the public sector are presented.

scholarly journals Theoretical interpretation of e-government implementation challenges in South Africa: A case study of a selected provincial government

2015 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 175-185 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Twum-Darko ◽  
Nimrod Noruwana ◽  
Kosheek Sewchurran
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Actor Network Theory ◽  
Research Literature ◽  
Provincial Government ◽  
Theoretical Interpretation ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Implementation Challenges ◽  
Socially Constructed ◽  
Clear Vision ◽  
The Social

This paper discusses factors influencing e-Government initiatives by African Governments to improve services to their citizens, businesses and their constituent. It further discusses, as a socially constructed phenomenon, the degree of readiness of governments to implement e-Government initiatives to improve services. The discussion uses Actor Network Theory (ANT) and in particular the concepts of moments of translation and irreversibility as a lens through which to understand and interpret the social phenomenon. Although a number of e-Government researchers have argued that strong leadership and clear vision is required to implement e-Government initiatives, the view is that Governments have continuously failed to achieve the intended results. E-Government potentials and benefits which are well documented in Information Systems and e-Government research literature have not been realised by governments due to limited capabilities in the administration of the public service. The study applied a deductive approach where semi-structured interviews were used for data collection in a selected Provincial Government in South Africa. The outcome is a general framework to determine the readiness of South Africa government and generally, African governments for e-Government initiatives to achieve the intended results.

scholarly journals Employed mothers’ breastfeeding: Exploring breastfeeding experience of employed mothers in different work environments in Ethiopia

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (11) ◽  
pp. e0259831
Author(s):  
Firmaye Bogale Wolde ◽  
Jemal Haidar Ali ◽  
Yalemwork Getnet Mengistu
Keyword(s):  
Maternal Employment ◽  
Maternity Leave ◽  
Addis Ababa ◽  
Care Center ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Work Environments ◽  
Descriptive Phenomenology ◽  
Major Barrier ◽  
Effective Interventions ◽  
Employed Mothers

Background One of the most cost-effective interventions to enhance child health with the potential to reach families of all economic backgrounds is breastfeeding. Despite the many benefits optimal breastfeeding has, its practice is low due to various barriers among which maternal employment is mentioned repeatedly. Accordingly, this study has explored the experience of employed mothers with regards to breastfeeding, employment, and work environment in Addis Ababa Ethiopia. Methods and findings A descriptive Phenomenology strategy was employed among 17 mothers drawn from different organizations, conveniently, that offer accommodation of six months maternity leave or onsite child care center or had only three months maternity leave. Data were collected through in-depth interviews until information saturation was reached. Recorded interviews were transcribed and translated and the information obtained was then organized and coded to generate overarching themes. Two themes on facilitators and barriers, and addressing barriers were generated after analysis. Mothers recognize the importance of breastfeeding for children but returning to work at three months is expressed as a major barrier to continuous breastfeeding. Mothers who have access to supporting conditions at their workplace expressed better breastfeeding practice and better satisfaction with their job. Conclusions Providing employed mothers with a supporting environment helps them work with better stability, motivation, and satisfaction. This however requires a suitable accommodation with a focus on the different kinds of work environments of the mothers and the different risks related to each respective environment via scaling up and monitoring breastfeeding interventions and calling upon institutions to remove structural and societal barriers to breastfeeding.

scholarly journals The Impact of Xenophobic Attacks on the Livelihoods of Migrants in Selected Provinces of South Africa

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
pp. 254-259
Author(s):  
Enoch Rabotata ◽  
◽  
Jabulani Makhubele ◽  
Themba Baloyi ◽  
Prudence Mafa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Sampling Technique ◽  
Undocumented Migrants ◽  
Snowball Sampling ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
North West ◽  
Mpumalanga Province ◽  
The Impact

Migration and xenophobia are realities that cannot be ignored globally. Recently, there has been a plethora of xenophobic attacks as a result of structural and socio-economic conditions in South Africa. This paper aimed to establish the impact of xenophobic attacks on the livelihoods of migrants in selected provinces of South Africa. Researchers opted for a qualitative study using a case study design. Participants were drawn from the population in Limpopo, North-West and Mpumalanga Province. A snowball sampling technique was used to sample seven migrants from Zimbabwe, India, and Ethiopia using semi-structured interviews. Data were analysed thematically. The study revealed that most migrants who reside in the rural areas of South Africa seldom experience xenophobic attacks, and therefore their livelihoods are not always negatively affected. The study concluded that displacement, deportation, and loss of income due to xenophobic attacks are experiences of undocumented migrants in the cities and not in the rural areas. This study also makes recommendations that migration management policies be implemented fully in the rural areas because this is where undocumented migrants find comfort.

scholarly journals 'Back to School after PhD': Exploring Teachers' Work Experiences

2021 ◽  
Vol VI (I) ◽  
pp. 78-85
Author(s):  
Muhammad Saqib ◽  
Syed Abdul Waheed ◽  
Nadia Gilani
Keyword(s):  
Phenomenological Approach ◽  
Phenomenological Analysis ◽  
Work Experiences ◽  
Snowball Sampling ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Education Department ◽  
School Teachers ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Content Expert ◽  
Study Results

Working in a school after attaining one of the highest research degrees is uncommon in academia. Nevertheless, this is an emerging phenomenon due to an increased number of PhDs in Pakistan. Yet, many PhDs are unemployed. On the other hand, a school is a place that requires content expert and pedagogically skilled teachers. In the present study, the researchers attempted to address the central questions of the study; how is it like to work in schools after completing PhD and how do PhDs experience being the most qualified persons teaching in schools? A phenomenological approach was employed to uncover participants lived experiences of working in schools. Thirteen PhDs were approached through snowball sampling who were teaching in schools. The data were collected through face-to-face semi-structured interviews at different schools that were analyzed using phenomenological analysis. As a result, three main themes and two sub-themes emerged from the interview transcripts. The themes included working in schools, joining the school after PhD (sub-themes; teaching and managing classroom, assessing and interaction with students) and working with non-PhDs. The study results have implications for PhDs working in schools, other school teachers and heads of the school, and the school education department.

scholarly journals The Use of Kumpfer's Resilience Framework in Understanding the Breastfeeding Experience of Employed Mothers After Returning to Work: a Qualitative Study in China

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hong Hua Guo ◽  
Rong Zhou ◽  
Min Xiang Li ◽  
Si Qi Zhang ◽  
Huan Ying Yi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Working Mothers ◽  
Dynamic Interaction ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Snowball Sampling ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Targeted Interventions ◽  
Employed Mothers ◽  
Returning To Work ◽  
Resilience Framework

Abstract Background: The increasing numbers of women in the workforce is an inevitable trend in China. More and more employed women stop breastfeeding because of working stressors. However, there are also many mothers overcoming many challenges to insist on breastfeeding after returning to work. Their individual experience of breastfeeding may provide a new insight to promote and support breastfeeding on employed mothers. This study sought to understand mothers’ experience with insisting on breastfeeding after returning to work based on Kumpfer’s Resilience Framework in Chinese context. Methods: This qualitative study was designed with semi-structured interviews. Purposive sampling and snowball sampling was employed to recruit 13 full-time working mothers with a stable job in the public sector who continued to breastfeed for 1 month or more after returning to work in Haikou, Hainan Province, China. Interviews were conducted from January to March 2020 to capture participants’ experiences of breastfeed after returning to work. Grounded theory and Kumpfer’s Resilience Framework were used to analyze data via a systematic and iterative process.Results: Employed mothers built resilience while continuing to breastfeed after returning to work. The core concept was "dynamic interaction". Other categories were the background and explanation of this phenomenon. For working mothers who continued to breastfeed, resilience involved "dynamic interaction", which started from "experiencing stressors" and "obtaining support", two factors that interacted with the individual to "stimulate resilience", which led to “behavioral resilience” during the ongoing dynamic interaction between resilience and environmental factors and ultimately led to three different "weaning outcomes", including natural weaning, active weaning, and forced weaning. Conclusions: This study identified the framework of resilience in mothers who insisted on breastfeeding after returning to work based on Kumpfer’s Resilience Framework. It may help midwives assess stressors and supports for employed mothers to continue to breastfeed after returning to work, determine the process by which resilience traits are stimulated in employed mothers, identify different phases of behavioral resilience, provide targeted interventions, and then promote favorable weaning outcomes.

Maternal and child health nurses’ experiences of implementing two community-based breastfeeding interventions in Victoria, Australia: A mixed methods process evaluation

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 4-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rhian L Cramer ◽  
Helen L McLachlan ◽  
Touran Shafiei ◽  
Lisa H Amir ◽  
Meabh Cullinane ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Child Health ◽  
Maternal And Child Health ◽  
Randomised Trial ◽  
Cluster Randomised Trial ◽  
Breastfeeding Initiation ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Breastfeeding Support ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Significant Drop ◽  
And Child Health

Despite high rates of breastfeeding initiation in Australia, there is a significant drop in breastfeeding rates in the early postpartum period, and Australian government breastfeeding targets are not being met. The Supporting breastfeeding In Local Communities (SILC) trial was a three-arm cluster randomised trial implemented in 10 Victorian local government areas (LGAs). It aimed to determine whether early home-based breastfeeding support by a maternal and child health nurse (MCH nurse) with or without access to a community-based breastfeeding drop-in centre increased the proportion of infants receiving ‘any’ breast milk at four months. Focus groups, a written questionnaire and semi-structured interviews were undertaken to explore the interventions from the perspective of the SILC-MCH nurses (n=13) and coordinators (n=6), who established and implemented the interventions. Inductive thematic analysis was used to identify themes, then findings further examined using Diffusion of Innovations Theory as a framework. SILC-MCH nurses and coordinators reported high levels of satisfaction, valuing the opportunity to improve breastfeeding in our community; and having focused breastfeeding time with women in their own homes. They felt the SILC interventions offered benefits to women, nurses and the MCH service. Implementing new interventions into existing, complex community health services presented unforeseen challenges, which were different in each LGA and were in part due to the complexity of the individual LGAs and not the interventions themselves. These findings will help inform the planning and development of future programs aimed at improving breastfeeding and other interventions in MCH.

Assessing the Appraisal, Disposal and Transfer of Records from 1994 to 2014: The Case of Mpumalanga Provincial Government in South Africa

Mousaion ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nkholedzeni Sidney Netshakhuma
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Transfer Process ◽  
Qualitative Method ◽  
Document Analysis ◽  
Provincial Government ◽  
Specific Objective

This study was conceptualised in order to assess the appraisal, disposal and transfer of archival records from the Mpumalanga Provincial Government (MPG) to the Mpumalanga Provincial Archives (MPA) for the period from 1994 to 2013. The study’s specific objective was to investigate the transfer process of archival records in terms of the Mpumalanga Archives Act, No. 14 of 1998. The study used a qualitative method through document analysis, interviews and observation. The sample for the study comprised the MPG and municipality records managers. The Mpumalanga provincial archivists were also interviewed as the custodians of the MPA. The key findings revealed that the MPG and the municipality did not comply with the Mpumalanga Archives Act, No. 14 of 1998 in terms of transferring records with archival value to the MPA as stipulated by the act. This has adverse implications for efficient administration of records in the country.  

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