Childcare, breastfeeding, and the active duty woman

The purpose of this research was to obtain information about the impact of military life on breastfeeding initiation and duration rates and childcare issues. This quantitative non-random sample study consisted of 56 active duty women with 70 children between the ages of 6 months and 6 years who were stationed in Japan. The instrumentation consisted of a questionnaire that had been developed and used in previous research by L. Duckett in 1993. Subjects were recruited at 4 sites on one military base over a 4-week period. For this sample the in-hospital initiation rate for breastfeeding was 80%, a statistical difference from national rates of 67.2% for 1999. The 6-month rate was 29%, and the 12-month rate was 11%. There was no statistical difference from the national rates. On a 16-item scale, Attitudes towards Combining Motherhood and Employment, only 4 items were associated with duration. Results on a 5-item scale on Combining Breastfeeding and Work, over 75% agreed it was worth the effort, they would recommended it to other new mothers, and they felt they were doing something special for their infant that no one else could do. Two major problems that lead to weaning were difficulty in finding time to express milk (31%) and difficulty finding a place to store milk (14%). Major childcare issues included (1) difficult to find (48%), (2) increased illness from other children (37%), and (3) cost (32%). Additional problems identified included lack of available care for shift workers and lack of sufficient hours to cover military readiness exercise that extend childcare needs to 12 or more hours. This descriptive study has provided some baseline data about childcare and breastfeeding in the military that can be incorporated into programs to improve the quality of life for both the active duty woman and her child.