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Background: Women with diabetes in pregnancy have decreased exclusivity and duration of breastfeeding compared with women without diabetes, and their infants are at increased risk of hypoglycemia. Clinicians often suggest pregnant women with diabetes to express breastmilk, and studies have reported increased breastfeeding exclusivity in the early postnatal period for patients who have expressed. Little is known about longer term outcomes. We investigated whether advising low‐risk women with diabetes in pregnancy to express beginning at 36 weeks of pregnancy increased exclusivity and maintenance of breastfeeding at 3 months. Methods: We conducted a multicenter, two‐group, randomized controlled trial at six hospitals in Melbourne, Australia, between 2011 and 2015. Women were randomized to either standard maternity care or advised to hand express for 10 min twice daily, in addition to standard care. Women were telephoned at 12–13 weeks postpartum and asked a series of questions about feeding their baby, perceptions of their milk supply, and other health outcomes. Results: Of 631 women in the study, data for 570 (90%) were analyzed at 12–13 weeks. After adjustment, we found no evidence that women allocated to antenatal expressing were more likely to be giving only breastmilk (aRR 1.07 [95% CI 0.92–1.22]) or any breastmilk (aRR 0.99 [95% CI 0.92–1.06]) at 12–13 weeks postpartum compared with women in the standard care group. Conclusion: While the practice of antenatal expression for low‐risk women with diabetes during pregnancy is promising for increasing exclusivity of breastmilk feeding in hospital, at 12–13 weeks, there was no association with breastfeeding outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flexible work is often heralded as a key solution to the work–family 'juggle', yet evidence of its effectiveness is mixed, and few studies consider how parents combine flexible work options to balance work and care. This study aimed to examine the interplay between formal (employer-provided) and informal (self-directed) flexible work arrangements and identify usage patterns that support parents' management of the work–family interface. We examined data from 3669 coupled Australian parents collected in 2016–2017. Using latent class analysis, we identified three distinct patterns of total flexibility use (low, moderate and high). Parents who were low users had the poorest work–family experiences, reporting higher work-to-family conflict, lower work–family enrichment and less balance than moderate or high users. However, high users experienced higher family-to-work conflict, and greater flexibility uptake did not ease perceptions of time pressure. Overall, findings demonstrate that formal and informal flexibility is a beneficial resource for mothers and fathers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The media plays a powerful role in shaping health‐related attitudes and behaviours. We investigated media reports about children's independent mobility (CIM) and associations with parental attitudes towards CIM. CIM‐related media reports (newspaper, online, television) during a 3‐month period were extracted from two databases. Concurrent parental attitudes were collected via telephone interview from 1779 parents of children aged 9–15 years. Media reports were overwhelmingly negative: 94% mentioned only risks and 6% mentioned benefits. There was no association between media reports and parental attitudes. Parental CIM attitudes are often complex and pervasive and may not be shifted by media coverage alone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Diabetes and Antenatal Milk Expressing (DAME) randomised controlled trial (RCT) was conducted in 2011–2015, at six sites in Melbourne, Australia to explore the effect of advising women with diabetes in pregnancy to express breast milk from 36 weeks gestation. Infants whose mothers were randomised to express in pregnancy were more likely to be exclusively breast milk fed during their hospital stay, and there was no evidence of harm. This paper explores women's views and experiences of antenatal expressing. In this two‐arm RCT, 635 women with diabetes in pregnancy who were otherwise of low medical risk were randomised at 36–37 weeks gestation to usual care (not expressing, n = 316), or the intervention, where women were advised to hand express for 10 min twice daily until birth (n = 319). Semistructured face‐to‐face interviews were conducted with 10 women who expressed antenatally. They were asked about their experiences of antenatal expressing, including how they felt about the overall experience, the amount of breast milk they expressed, making time to express, and their experience of breastfeeding. Thematic analysis of the in‐depth interviews identified six themes: (1) learning and adapting expressing, (2) feelings and sensations associated with expressing, (3) support, (4) dis/empowerment, (5) health, and (6) the value of breast milk. Women had both positive and negative experiences of antenatal expressing. If health professionals are advising antenatal expressing to women, it is important they understand the range of outcomes and experiences. Key messages: Women's experiences of antenatal expressing were both positive and negative; it is important to understand the range of experiences.Women should be advised that some women express little or no breast milk antenatally and therefore be reassured if they are concerned.For women with diabetes in pregnancy, their diabetes management is a significant time burden, and should be considered when discussing antenatal expressing with women.Maternity care providers need to follow‐up with pregnant women advised to express, to provide education, reassurance, and reassess expressing techniques.Maternity care providers need to manage and prioritise the use of expressed breast milk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Women with diabetes in pregnancy have decreased exclusivity and duration of breastfeeding compared with women without diabetes, and their infants are at increased risk of hypoglycemia. Clinicians often suggest pregnant women with diabetes to express breastmilk, and studies have reported increased breastfeeding exclusivity in the early postnatal period for patients who have expressed. Little is known about longer term outcomes. We investigated whether advising low-risk women with diabetes in pregnancy to express beginning at 36 weeks of pregnancy increased exclusivity and maintenance of breastfeeding at 3 months., Methods: We conducted a multicenter, two-group, randomized controlled trial at six hospitals in Melbourne, Australia, between 2011 and 2015. Women were randomized to either standard maternity care or advised to hand express for 10 min twice daily, in addition to standard care. Women were telephoned at 12-13 weeks postpartum and asked a series of questions about feeding their baby, perceptions of their milk supply, and other health outcomes., Results: Of 631 women in the study, data for 570 (90%) were analyzed at 12-13 weeks. After adjustment, we found no evidence that women allocated to antenatal expressing were more likely to be giving only breastmilk (aRR 1.07 [95% CI 0.92-1.22]) or any breastmilk (aRR 0.99 [95% CI 0.92-1.06]) at 12-13 weeks postpartum compared with women in the standard care group., Conclusion: While the practice of antenatal expression for low-risk women with diabetes during pregnancy is promising for increasing exclusivity of breastmilk feeding in hospital, at 12-13 weeks, there was no association with breastfeeding outcomes., (© 2024 The Authors. Birth published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.)