Facilitators and barriers for breastfeeding among working women in Saudi Arabia

This research explored the facilitators and barriers of breastfeeding as perceived by Saudi women in paid employment. To contextualise Saudi women’s experiences, current workplace policies related to breastfeeding and their operationalisation in the local workplace environment were examined. Also, the experiences of co-workers, line managers and employers have been sought to assess the position of workplace culture in supporting women to continue breastfeeding. Finally, the views of healthcare professionals who work with childbearing women were sought to increase understanding of the roles healthcare workers and healthcare services play in supporting women to initiate and continue breastfeeding after returning to paid employment.