<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><sec id="j_abm-2018-0020_s_005_w2aab3b7b1b1b6b1aab1c17b1Aa"><h3>Background</h3><p>Exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) of infants in their first 6 months postpartum is beneficial. However, maternal employment and short maternity leave impede EBF practice. In 2011, Brunei implemented a new Maternity Leave Regulation to extend paid maternity leave.</p></sec><sec id="j_abm-2018-0020_s_006_w2aab3b7b1b1b6b1aab1c17b2Aa"><h3>Objectives</h3><p>To compare the prevalence of EBF between employed and nonworking mothers in Brunei, before and after extending paid maternity leave, to determine its effect on EBF and to determine the effects of maternal and infant sociodemographic characteristics.</p></sec><sec id="j_abm-2018-0020_s_007_w2aab3b7b1b1b6b1aab1c17b3Aa"><h3>Methods</h3><p>Cross-sectional review of feeding records for infants born in 2010 (n = 6412, 85.5% all live births) and 2013 (n = 6680, 85.7%).</p></sec><sec id="j_abm-2018-0020_s_008_w2aab3b7b1b1b6b1aab1c17b4Aa"><h3>Results</h3><p>EBF prevalence at 6 months postpartum increased from 29% in 2010 to 41% in 2013. EBF prevalence was higher among multiparous mothers (<italic>P</italic> &lt; 0.001), mothers of Malay ethnicity (<italic>P</italic> &lt; 0.05), and mothers of girls (<italic>P</italic> &lt; 0.01 only in 2013) in both years. EBF prevalence among government-employed mothers (81.0%, 67.7%, and 57.8%) was greater than it was among nonworking mothers (79.1%, 66.3%, and 56.9%) by 1.9, 1.4, and 0.9 percentage points, respectively, during the first 3 months of active paid maternity leave in 2013. Mothers employed in the government and private sectors showed greater increases in the practice of EBF (15.5 and 10.8 percentage points respectively) than nonworking mothers (8.8 percentage points) from 2010 to 2013.</p></sec><sec id="j_abm-2018-0020_s_009_w2aab3b7b1b1b6b1aab1c17b5Aa"><h3>Conclusions</h3><p>EBF prevalence increased after extending paid maternity leave, with the greatest increases seen among employed mothers. Maternal ethnicity, parity, and the sex of the infant were also correlated with EBF.</p></sec></abstract>

BackgroundExclusive breastfeeding (EBF) of infants in their first 6 months postpartum is beneficial. However, maternal employment and short maternity leave impede EBF practice. In 2011, Brunei implemented a new Maternity Leave Regulation to extend paid maternity leave.ObjectivesTo compare the prevalence of EBF between employed and nonworking mothers in Brunei, before and after extending paid maternity leave, to determine its effect on EBF and to determine the effects of maternal and infant sociodemographic characteristics.MethodsCross-sectional review of feeding records for infants born in 2010 (n = 6412, 85.5% all live births) and 2013 (n = 6680, 85.7%).ResultsEBF prevalence at 6 months postpartum increased from 29% in 2010 to 41% in 2013. EBF prevalence was higher among multiparous mothers (P < 0.001), mothers of Malay ethnicity (P < 0.05), and mothers of girls (P < 0.01 only in 2013) in both years. EBF prevalence among government-employed mothers (81.0%, 67.7%, and 57.8%) was greater than it was among nonworking mothers (79.1%, 66.3%, and 56.9%) by 1.9, 1.4, and 0.9 percentage points, respectively, during the first 3 months of active paid maternity leave in 2013. Mothers employed in the government and private sectors showed greater increases in the practice of EBF (15.5 and 10.8 percentage points respectively) than nonworking mothers (8.8 percentage points) from 2010 to 2013.ConclusionsEBF prevalence increased after extending paid maternity leave, with the greatest increases seen among employed mothers. Maternal ethnicity, parity, and the sex of the infant were also correlated with EBF.

Paid maternity leave extension and exclusive breastfeeding practice: evidence from Brunei

Department of Primary Care and Public Health

Asian Biomedicine

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

BackgroundExclusive breastfeeding (EBF) of infants in their first 6 months postpartum is beneficial. However, maternal employment and short maternity leave...

Paid maternity leave extension and exclusive breastfeeding practice: evidence from Brunei

Article Category: Original article

Published Online: Dec 30, 2017

Page range: 435 - 442

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/abm-2018-0020

Keywords
breastfeeding, child health and nutrition, early life, health policies, maternal, parity

© 2017 Mohammed M. Alhaji et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Paid maternity leave extension and exclusive breastfeeding practice: evidence from Brunei

Article Category: Original article

Published Online: Dec 30, 2017

Page range: 435 - 442

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/abm-2018-0020

Keywordsbreastfeeding, child health and nutrition, early life, health policies, maternal, parity

© 2017 Mohammed M. Alhaji et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Keywords
breastfeeding, child health and nutrition, early life, health policies, maternal, parity