Expression of Breast Milk in the Workplace: An Analysis Among Registered Nurses, Nurse Managers, and Hospital Representatives in Acute Care Hospitals

Background: More than half of women return to the workforce within one year following the birth of their child. To continue offering breast milk to their infants and follow AAP and WHO recommendations for breastfeeding, these women often need to express breast milk in the workplace. Registered Nurses who work in bedside roles do not traditionally have access to private office spaces or personal control over their work schedule, making them uniquely susceptible to workplace barriers for expression of breast milk. Currently, the CDC recommends cleaning a breast pump with soap and water and leaving it to air dry after each use. It is unknown what the current knowledge and adherence levels to these recommendations are within a working population or how knowledge and adherence may affect breastfeeding practice outcomes.Objectives: The study was conducted: 1) To determine relationships between employee perceptions of workplace support for expression of breast milk in the workplace (EBMW) and duration of breastfeeding, duration of EBMW, and other infant feeding practices, 2) To describe knowledge of CDC recommendations for cleaning of a breast pump across Registered Nurse (RN), Nurse Manager (NM), and Hospital Representative (HR) groups, 3) To determine if RN knowledge was associated with RN adherence to CDC recommendations for cleaning of a breast pump, 4) To describe relationships between RN breastfeeding practices and: RN knowledge and adherence, NM knowledge, and HR Knowledge, and 5) To learn about the experiences of working RNs who have expressed breast milk in the workplace and provide recommendations to employers for improving employee lactation experiences. Methods: This was a cross sectional research study. Registered Nurse participants who had given birth within the past three years (n=199), Nurse Managers (n = 36), and Hospital Representatives (n = 6) were recruited from 10 hospitals within the county of Los Angeles. Registered Nurses completed four questionnair