‘Just not enough time’ – Under-resourced and low prioritization for postpartum care in Australia continues to impact breastfeeding support and success for women

Background: Postnatal care is the cornerstone of successful parenting and long-term health. Midwives face barriers when supporting and educating postpartum women. Breastfeeding is an important component of postpartum care that is likely impacted when under-resourced. 

Aims: To examine the facilitators and barriers faced by midwives in providing effective breastfeeding support within the early postnatal context. 

Methods: An online survey for midwives in Australia, advertised on social media. Open-ended questions generated qualitative data that were thematically analysed and demographic data were analysed to provide descriptive statistics. 

Findings: After removal of incomplete responses, 113 were analysed. The respondents were Australian residents. Participants highlighted how evidence based and high-quality breastfeeding “Knowledge facilitates preparedness” for postpartum women. Conversely, “Just not enough time” was expressed as a key barrier to providing effective, quality support to postpartum women. 

Discussion: Women desire individualised and timely support from midwives, however, experience the postnatal ward as chaotic. The participants concur that there is “Just not enough time” to provide individualised support women desire around breastfeeding. Improving midwife: woman ratios and counting the babies, as announced in Queensland, Australia in 2023, and ensuring midwives are cognisant in lactogenesis will improve women’s confidence and promote long term breastfeeding. 

Conclusion: Continued under-resourcing of postpartum care is impacting midwives’ ability to provide the individualized and timely education and support women desire and require for long term breastfeeding. Exploration of alleviating strategies that better equip midwives to support women and the longevity of their breastfeeding journeys, is urgently needed.