Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2017 Dec 21;5(1):39-44.
doi: 10.1016/j.ijnss.2017.12.005. eCollection 2018 Jan 10.

Coping mechanism against high levels of daily stress by working breastfeeding mothers in Iran

Sousan Valizadeh  1 , Mina Hosseinzadeh  2 , Eesa Mohammadi  3 , Hadi Hassankhani  4 , Marjaneh M Fooladi  5   6 , Allison Cummins  7
Affiliations

Coping mechanism against high levels of daily stress by working breastfeeding mothers in Iran

Sousan Valizadeh et al. Int J Nurs Sci. .

Abstract

Objectives: Breastfeeding mothers returning to work undertake multiple conflicting roles at home and work that can result in high levels of stress. Exploring coping skills amongst these mothers can help in planning useful programmes to promote family wellbeing. This study aims to explore the experiences of working breastfeeding mothers and their coping mechanism against high levels of daily stress.

Methods: In this qualitative study, we described the experiences of 20 Iranian breastfeeding mothers through in-depth and semi-structured interviews. All interviews were recorded, transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis.

Results: Two main themes emerged as follows: 1) self-management with subthemes of a) attitude reconstruction, b) order and planning, c) creating a boundary between work and family and d) reprioritising life affairs; and 2) seeking help with subthemes of a) family member support, b) childcare facilities and c) spirituality.

Conclusions: Findings suggest that women need support from family members and family-friendly policies at the workplace. Breastfeeding mothers may benefit from educational programmes that focus on effective coping strategies.

Keywords: Breastfeeding; Coping; Employment; Iran; Stress; Women's health.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Marshall N.L., Tracy A.J. After the baby: work-family conflict and working mothers' psychological health. Fam Relat. 2009;58(4):380–391.
    1. Barnett R.C., Hyde J.S. Women, men, work, and family. Am Psychol. 2001;56(10):781–796. 10.1037∖∖0003-066X.56.10.781. - PubMed
    1. Friedman M.M., Bowden V., Jones E.G. fifth ed. 2003. Family nursing. New Jersey: Upper saddle River.
    1. Seto M., Morimoto K., Maruyama S. Work and family life of childrearing women workers in Japan: comparison of non-regular employees with short working hours, non-regular employees with long working hours, and regular employees. J Occup Health. 2006;48(3):183–191. - PubMed
    1. Seto M., Morimoto K., Maruyama S. Effects of work-related factors and work-family conflict on depression among Japanese working women living with young children. Environ Health Prev Med. 2004;9(5):220–227. - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources