Common Barriers to Exclusive Breastfeeding and How Breast Pump Access Can Help Mothers Overcome Those Barriers in the Departments of Santa Ana and Ahuachapán, El Salvador

The relationship between proper nutrition in the first 1,000 days of an infant’s life and better health is widely recognized as being one of the most important factors in creating a strong foundation for health throughout childhood. An important aspect of proper infant nutrition is exclusive breastfeeding in the first six months of life (Save the Children International, 2012). In El Salvador, the percentage of children that are not growing well (i.e. who are stunted, wasted, or overweight) is higher than the regional average for Central America (UNICEF, 2019). The goal of this research is to identify barriers to mothers’ abilities to exclusively breastfeed in the departments of Santa Ana and Ahuachapan, El Salvador, and what changes in behavior are observed when they are provided with a manual breast pump and educational resources about proper infant nutrition. Ninety-two mothers of infants between 0 and 6 months of age in 12 communities throughout these two departments participated in surveys about their infant’s nutrition and breastfeeding rates. Half of the women were surveyed prior to receiving education about proper infant nutrition and a manual breast pump (control group), and the other half were surveyed between 3 weeks and 6 months after participating in the class and receiving a breast pump (small initial group and experimental group). The mothers identify three main barriers to their ability to exclusively breastfeed: difficulty latching, time away from home, and low breastmilk supply. The mothers in the small initial group and experimental group identify specific ways in which the breast pump was a solution for those exact barriers. The percentage of women that were exclusively breastfeeding without access to a breast pump was 34%, and the percentage of women that were exclusively breastfeeding after the women in the experimental and small initial group received access to a breast pump was 54%. This suggests that universal breast pump access and promotion of breast pump usage may raise the national rates of exclusive breastfeeding and consequently improve health outcomes for infants and children in El Salvador.