43% of nursing mothers have problems reconciling
It is clear that there is still a long way to go in the field of conciliation, because there is a certain cultural gap in the companies. Thus, the II Study on Conciliation and Breastfeeding carried out by Suavinex, reveals that the 43.7% of nursing mothers Spanish has problems to reconcile lactation with their work situation.
Despite what may seem, this data, in any case, is a significant improvement over the year 2016, when the first edition of this study showed a figure that amounted to 50.5%. The problem of conciliation seems especially accentuated in large national companies in the tertiary sector, where more than half of working mothers have indicated complications due to their conditions.
Thus, only 50.71% have declared to have felt the support and understanding of their entire work environment when facing their period of breastfeeding. In this aspect, there is not much change with respect to 2016, when the results were similar, although somewhat lower.
The abandonment of work and breastfeeding
38.43% of those surveyed said they could not integrate breastfeeding into their work routine and 61.92% considered abandoning breastfeeding. The most direct consequence of this situation is the abandonment of one of the activities. So, we see that practically one in ten (9.55%) Spanish mothers have abandoned their career against their initial will.
Regarding the cessation of breastfeeding, 58.22% of the participants in the study did not reach the year of lactation, despite the fact that 85.02% said they favored prolonged breastfeeding.
Alternatives for conciliation
In contrast to the data obtained in 2016, the percentage of mothers who decide not to opt for any conciliation alternative is reduced to practically one third, from 36% in the first edition of the study to 12.24% per day from today.
There is, therefore, a positive progression in terms of social awareness about the importance of reconciling and a cultural change that leaves behind the idea of renouncing one of the facets of a woman's life.
In spite of this, these options do not end up being implemented with the naturalness and acceptance that they should, because in many cases they involve situations of discomfort for the women who adopt them. As an example, we see that up to 40.64% of mothers who have requested a reduction in working hours have felt this way. The same happens with the 35.78% of mothers who have decided to opt for milk extraction or with 37.47% of those who use their time for breastfeeding, as well as with 17.5% of who have requested a change in their position and tasks.
Marina Berrio
Counseling: II Study on Conciliation and Breastfeeding of Suavinex
