Abstract
In today’s modern world, it is equally significant for the mothers to nurse their babies and pursue their jobs. However, working mothers specifically teachers face initial challenges when they chose to breastfeed and return to work. In the Philippines, Republic Act No. 10028 (2009) otherwise known as Expanded Breastfeeding Promotion was implemented to support breastfeeding employees through establishment of lactation area and the practice of 40-minute lactation period at work. However, not all workplace is implementing the law. This research was a mixed qualitative and quantitative type of study. A quantitative approach through a survey questionnaire using a five-point Likert scale assessed the challenges faced by the 15 mothers who continued breastfeeding their babies after their maternity leave in Albay. A qualitative approach deepened the understanding of these challenges to come up with proposed recommendations through open-response questions in the survey. Descriptive statistics and qualitative content analysis were utilized to analyze the data. Two main challenges were identified in the workplace: lack of time (2.67) and lack of lactation area (2.93). Most breastfeeding teachers experienced inflexible working schedule and inaccessible lactation area in schools. Despite the challenges, they were supported by their co-teachers (4.33) and supervisors (3.67) by covering their duties and giving them constant moral support. The Department of Education (DepEd) with the help of school supervisors/principals must monitor the implementation of flexible work schedule, improvised lactation area, and inclusive guidelines in schools throughout Albay to fully create a supportive working environment for the breastfeeding teachers.
Author Information
Christine Grace M. Azul, University of Santo Tomas-Legazpi, Philippines
Paper Information
Conference: ACE2023
Stream: Teaching Experiences
This paper is part of the ACE2023 Conference Proceedings (View)
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To cite this article:
Azul C. (2024) Challenges and Recommendations to Champion Breastfeeding Teachers in Albay ISSN: 2186-5892 The Asian Conference on Education 2023: Official Conference Proceedings https://doi.org/10.22492/issn.2186-5892.2024.21
To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.22492/issn.2186-5892.2024.21
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