Browsing by Author "Pereira-Kotze, Catherine"

Now showing 1 - 8 of 8
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    Access to maternity protection and potential implications for breastfeeding practices of domestic workers in the western cape of South Africa
    (MDPI, 2023) Pereira-Kotze, Catherine; Faber, Mieke; Kannemeyer, Luke
    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.
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    Conflicts of interest are harming maternal and child health: time for scientific journals to end relationships with manufacturers of breast-milk substitutes
    (BMJ Global Helah, 2022) Pereira-Kotze, Catherine; Jeffery, Bill; Badham, Jane; Swart, Elizabeth C
    The promotion and support of breastfeeding globally is thwarted by the USD $57 billion (and growing) formula industry that engages in overt and covert advertising and promotion as well as extensive political activity to foster policy environments conducive to market growth.1 This includes health professional financing and engagement through courses, e-learning platforms, sponsorship of conferences and health professional associations2 and advertising in medical/health journals. These contribute to the overuse of specialised formulas3 and inappropriate dissemination of health and nutrition claims.4 Such ‘medical marketing’ reduces breastfeeding initiation, exclusivity, and duration, irrespective of country context.5 It also creates a subtle, unconscious bias and conflict of interest, whereby journal publishers may consciously, or unconsciously, favour corporations in ways that undermine scientific integrity and editorial independence—even perceived conflicts of interest may tarnish the reputation of scientists, organisations or corporations. Such conflicts have plagued infant and young child nutrition science for decades.
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    Exploring the factors influencing exclusive breastfeeding within the first 14 weeks postpartum with mothers in the Khayelitsha-eastern substructure
    (University of the Western Cape, 2020) Marais, Megan Candice; Pereira-Kotze, Catherine
    Despite evidence-based proof on the benefits of breastfeeding, little progress has been made globally to improve breastfeeding rates (The Lancet, 2016), including in South Africa. Despite many attempts to improve breastfeeding rates worldwide, women are still choosing to stop breastfeeding or avoid it due to various factors (The Lancet, 2016). Aim: To explore the factors influencing the exclusive breastfeeding rate within the first 14 weeks postpartum with mothers in the Khayelitsha Eastern Substructure.
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    Exploring women’s exposure to marketing of commercial formula products: A qualitative marketing study from two sites in South Africa
    (Taylor and Francis Group, 2022) Pereira-Kotze, Catherine; Horwood, Christiane; Haskins, Lyn
    Regulating the marketing of commercial formula products is a long-term commitment required to protect breastfeeding. Marketing strategies of formula manufacturers, retailers and distributors evolve at a rapid rate. The aim of this research was to describe exposure of pregnant women and mothers of young children in South Africa to marketing of commercial formula products, compared to international recommendations and national legislation.
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    Legislation and policies for the right to maternity protection in South Africa: A fragmented state of affairs
    (SAGE Publications, 2022) Pereira-Kotze, Catherine; Malherbe, Kitty; Faber, Mieke
    Maternity protection rights incorporate comprehensive benefits that should be available to pregnant or breastfeeding working women.To describe South Africa’s maternity protection legal and policy landscape and compare it to global recommendations.A prospective cross-sectional comparative policy analysis was used to review and describe national policy documents published from 1994–2021. Entitlements were mapped and compared to International Labour Organization standards. The document analysis was supplemented by interviews conducted with key national government department informants. Thematic analysis was used to evaluate policy and interview content.
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    Maternity protection entitlements for non-standard workers in low-and-middle-income countries and potential implications for breastfeeding practices: a scoping review of research since 2000
    (BMC, 2023) Pereira-Kotze, Catherine; Feeley, Alison; Doherty, Tanya; Faber, Mieke
    Background Recommended breastfeeding practices contribute to improved health of infants, young children, and mothers. Access to comprehensive maternity protection would enable working women to breastfeed for longer. Women working in positions of non-standard employment are particularly vulnerable to not accessing maternity protection entitlements. The objective of this scoping review was to determine the current research conducted on maternity protection available and accessible to non-standard workers in low-and-middle-income countries and any potential implications for breastfeeding practices. Methods Nine databases were searched using search terms related to maternity protection, non-standard employment, and breastfeeding. Documents in English published between January 2000 and May 2021 were included. The approach recommended by the Joanna Briggs Institute was used to select sources, extract, and present data. The types of participants included in the research were female non-standard workers of child-bearing age. The core concept examined by the scoping review was the availability and access to comprehensive maternity protection entitlements of pregnant and breastfeeding women. Research from low-and-middle-income countries was included. The types of evidence sources were limited to primary research. Results Seventeen articles were included for data extraction mainly from research conducted in Africa and Asia. Research on maternity protection for non-standard workers mostly focused on childcare. Components of maternity protection are inconsistently available and often inaccessible to women working in non-standard employment. Inaccessibility of maternity protection was described to disrupt breastfeeding both directly and indirectly, but certain characteristics of non-standard work were found to be supportive of breastfeeding. Conclusions Published information on maternity protection for non-standard workers is limited. However, the available information indicates that non-standard workers have inadequate and inconsistent access to maternity protection
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    Stemming commercial milk formula marketing: Now is the time for radical transformation to build resilience for breastfeeding
    (Elsevier, 2023) Doherty, Tanya; Horwood, Christiane; Pereira-Kotze, Catherine
    One of the striking messages of the Lancet Breastfeeding Series1–3 is that the consumption of commercial milk formula (CMF) by infants and young children has been normalised. More children are consuming CMF than ever before. 2 Only 48% of the world’s infants and young children are breastfed as recommended,4 despite the huge body of evidence on the lifelong benefits of breastfeeding. This situation reflects the stranglehold the CMF industry has on governments, health professionals, academic institutions, and increasingly on caregivers and families through pervasive social media.
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    Use of social media platforms by manufacturers to market breast-milk substitutes in South Africa
    (BMJ Publishing Group, 2020) Pereira-Kotze, Catherine; Doherty, Tanya M.; Swart, Elizabeth Catherina
    In South Africa (SA), exclusive breast feeding remains rare, with breast-milk substitutes (BMS) commonly being used in ways that are detrimental to infant and young child nutrition, health and survival. The use of internet, digital and mobile platforms has increased, including in low-income and middle-income countries, like SA and these platforms are avenues for BMS marketing. SA has national legislation (Regulation R991) to enforce the International Code of Marketing of BMS. This paper aims to provide pertinent examples of how BMS manufacturers in SA use social media to market their products thus violating national regulations. A digital (and social media) ethnography approach was used to study BMS organisations' activity on Facebook and Instagram.