Dr Augustine Quarshie, Senior Physician and Head of Clinical Care at the Tema General Hospital, says a conducive working environment will make a significant difference in the mental health and well-being of nursing mothers.
Dr Quarshie said a designated lactation room, supportive co-workers, a flexible schedule, and a nursery for the babies are necessary to reduce absenteeism, enhance job satisfaction and productivity, and increase breastfeeding duration and exclusivity, among others, which would benefit both the baby, the mother, and the company.
He made this known during the commemoration of Mental Health Day at the Tema General Hospital under the theme “It is Time to Prioritise Mental Health at the Workplace.”
He said it was rare to see companies having dedicated nurseries to keep and care for the children until the mother closes from work, adding that this affected their output as most of them found it difficult to manage the babies, home, and work concurrently.
Dr Quarshie said although some financial institutions were now constructing some nursery facilities with specialised staff catering for the children, more needed to be done, especially in the health sector, to make work easy for nursing mothers.
He underscored the need to look beyond the physical health of employees, advising companies to consider the mental health of staff as paramount.
The senior physician called for a systematic review of interventions to improve the workplace environment for nursing mothers, noting that young and vibrant women sometimes become challenged when some of these measures are not put in place at the workplace.
GNA
