The Successfulness of Exclusive Breastfeeding for Working Mothers in The Formal Sector

Failure to achieve exclusive breastfeeding in Indonesia is caused by many things. One of them is the increasing number of female workers. Working mothers are more at risk for not breastfeeding exclusively. This study aimed to obtain in-depth information about the behavior of breastfeeding, supporting and barrier factors in the exclusive breastfeeding in mothers who work in the formal sector. The type of the research is qualitative descriptive research with Rapid Assessment Procedure. The sampling technique was used purposive sampling in breastfeeding mothers working in formal sector such as government office and private office in Pekanbaru city. The data was collected through in-depth interviews and observations from 8 informants and 3 key informants. Results showed that the success of exclusive breastfeeding began in during pregnancy, while in hospital, her time off work and her time at work. Barrier factors are the situation and condition of employment which do not allow exclusive breastfeeding. Some mothers could not pump breast milk, and there were no available means to breastfeed or pump breast milk. Mothers with confidence had a greater chance to succeed in exclusive breastfeeding. Support from leaders, husbands, families and coworkers are needed to encourage and motivate exclusive breastfeeding