Access to maternity protection and potential implications for breastfeeding practices of domestic workers in the western cape of South Africa
Date
2023Author
Pereira-Kotze, Catherine
Faber, Mieke
Kannemeyer, Luke
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Access to comprehensive maternity protection could contribute to improved breastfeeding
practices for working women. Domestic workers are a vulnerable group. This study aimed to explore
perceptions of and accessibility to maternity protection among domestic workers in the Western
Cape, South Africa, and potential implications of maternity protection access for breastfeeding
practices. This was a mixed-method cross-sectional study including a quantitative online survey
with 4635 South African domestic workers and 13 individual in-depth interviews with domestic
workers. Results from the online survey showed that domestic workers had inconsistent knowledge
of maternity-protection entitlements. Data from individual in-depth interviews showed that most
participants struggled to access all components of comprehensive maternity protection, with some
entitlements being inconsistently and informally available. Most domestic workers were unfamiliar
with the concept of breaks to breastfeed or express milk. Participants provided suggestions for
improving domestic workers’ access to maternity protection.