Do Health Workers Play a Role in Exclusive Breastfeeding among Working Mothers in Industrial Area?

The culture of breastfeeding has been inherited for a long time in Indonesia. Changes in lifestyle have caused an increase in the number of working mothers. Results of the Basic Health Research in 2018 reported exclusive breastfeeding coverage was decreased as much as 17% between 2013 and 2018. The purpose of this study was to determine association of health workers support and other factors on exclusive breastfeeding practice among working mothers in industrial area. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in April-June 2018 in industrial area at Cibinong, Bogor, Indonesia. As many as 126 working mothers who had babies aged 7–24 mo were selected using a purposive sampling technique. Results: Only 37.3% of working mothers breastfed their babies exclusively. The support of health workers was the most dominant factor associated with exclusive breastfeeding {(p=0.001; OR: 6.210 (1.184–6.257)}. Husband’s support {(p=0.014; OR: 5.228 (1.306–10.234} were also associated with exclusive breastfeeding. Working mothers who obtained support from health workers were 6.210 times more likely to breastfeed exclusively as compared to mothers who did not receive support from health workers. Conclusions: Actual and direct support from husband and health workers from the period of pregnancy to lactation is important for the success of exclusive breastfeeding among working mothers.