The challenge of combining professional work and breastfeeding is a key reason why women choose not to breastfeed or to stop breastfeeding early. We posited that having access to a high-quality lactation room at the workplace could influence working mothers’ satisfaction and perceptions related to expressing breast milk at work, which could have important longer term consequences for the duration of breastfeeding. Specifically, we aimed to (1) develop a checklist for assessing the quality of lactation rooms and (2) explore how lactation room quality affects lactating mothers’ satisfaction and perceptions. Drawing on social ecological insights, we hypothesized that the quality of lactation rooms (operationalized as any space used for expressing milk at work) would be positively related to mothers’ satisfaction with the room, perceived ease of, and perceived support for milk expression at work. We conducted two studies. In Study 1 we developed a lactation room quality checklist (LRQC) and assessed its reliability twice, using samples of 33 lactation rooms (Study 1a) and 31 lactation rooms (Study 1b). Data were collected in the Northern part of the Netherlands (between December 2016 and April 2017). Study 2 comprised a cross-sectional survey of 511 lactating mothers, working in a variety of Dutch organizations. The mothers were recruited through the Facebook page of a popular Dutch breastfeeding website. They completed online questionnaires containing the LRQC and measures aimed at assessing their satisfaction and perceptions related to milk expression at work (in June and July 2017). The LRQC was deemed reliable and easy to apply in practice. As predicted, we found that objectively assessed higher-quality lactation rooms were associated with increased levels of satisfaction with the lactation rooms, perceived ease of milk expression at work, and perceived support from supervisors and co-workers for expressing milk in the workplace. The availability of a high-quality lactation room could influence mothers’ decisions regarding breast milk expression at work and the commencement and/or continuation of breastfeeding. Future studies should explore whether and how lactation room quality affects breastfeeding choices, and which aspects are most important to include in lactation rooms.

中文翻译：

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一项关于哺乳室质量和荷兰职业母亲的满意度、对工作中母乳表达的感知舒适度和感知支持的横断面研究

将专业工作与母乳喂养相结合的挑战是女性选择不母乳喂养或提前停止母乳喂养的关键原因。我们假设，在工作场所使用高质量的哺乳室可能会影响职业母亲对在工作中吸奶的满意度和看法，这可能会对母乳喂养的持续时间产生重要的长期影响。具体来说，我们的目标是 (1) 制定评估哺乳室质量的清单，以及 (2) 探索哺乳室质量如何影响哺乳母亲的满意度和感知。借鉴社会生态学的见解，我们假设哺乳室的质量（可作为工作中用于吸奶的任何空间）将与母亲对房间的满意度、感知的舒适度、并感知到对工作中挤奶的支持。我们进行了两项研究。在研究 1 中，我们制定了哺乳室质量检查表 (LRQC)，并使用 33 个哺乳室（研究 1a）和 31 个哺乳室（研究 1b）的样本对其可靠性进行了两次评估。数据是在荷兰北部（2016 年 12 月至 2017 年 4 月）收集的。研究 2 包括对 511 名在各种荷兰组织工作的哺乳期母亲的横断面调查。这些母亲是通过一个受欢迎的荷兰母乳喂养网站的 Facebook 页面招募的。他们完成了包含 LRQC 和措施的在线问卷，旨在评估他们对工作中挤奶的满意度和看法（2017 年 6 月和 7 月）。LRQC 被认为是可靠且易于在实践中应用的。正如预测的那样，我们发现，客观评估的更高质量的泌乳室与提高对泌乳室的满意度、工作中挤奶的感觉以及主管和同事对在工作场所挤奶的支持有关。高质量哺乳室的可用性可能会影响母亲在工作中挤出母乳以及开始和/或继续母乳喂养的决定。未来的研究应该探讨哺乳室的质量是否以及如何影响母乳喂养的选择，以及哪些方面最重要，包括在哺乳室。以及主管和同事对在工作场所挤奶的支持。高质量哺乳室的可用性可能会影响母亲在工作中挤出母乳以及开始和/或继续母乳喂养的决定。未来的研究应该探讨哺乳室的质量是否以及如何影响母乳喂养的选择，以及哪些方面最重要，包括在哺乳室。以及主管和同事对在工作场所挤奶的支持。高质量哺乳室的可用性可能会影响母亲在工作中挤出母乳以及开始和/或继续母乳喂养的决定。未来的研究应该探讨哺乳室的质量是否以及如何影响母乳喂养的选择，以及哪些方面对哺乳室最重要。