Making breastfeeding work: University of Limerick researcher, nurse and mother leads the way

“One of my life dreams was to practice nursing and study in a country different from where I was trained and working hard has been the only way forward”, says Enobong Gideon Asuquo a full-time general nurse, PhD researcher at University of Limerick and a breastfeeding mother.

A staff member of St John’s Hospital, Limerick, Enobong was one of the first in her workplace to avail of new legislation allowing mothers to take paid breastfeeding breaks up to their child’s second birthday.  

Enobong trained as a nurse in Nigeria and worked there for a few years, but always had the ambition to further her studies and practice nursing abroad. She spent two years working in Norway, before moving to Ireland in 2017.

Enobong undertook a BSc in Nursing add-on programme at ATU-Galway (formerly GMIT) while working full-time.

“I have always worked and gone to school, so it’s become a part of me. I’ve always loved books and studying, researching and putting ideas together. Synthesising knowledge.”

After moving to Limerick, she completed an MSc in Nursing at UL in 2020, while working in a nursing home during the pandemic. This is when Enobong conceived her PhD topic which explores the social support needed for nurses and midwives who provide care and support to the public even in the face of increasing workload, burnout and staff shortages. She is looking at how we might consider that nurses themselves require support to meet family and work demands.

“As we may all know, challenges with nursing practice include having to be physically present at work, the heavy workload and the global shortage of nurses among others. These contribute to increased exposure to occupational injuries such as work-related musculoskeletal disorders resulting in disabilities. This has also affected me as a working nurse,” she explains.

“Prior to COVID-19 pandemic, not much attention was given to supporting nurses and midwives to promote their wellbeing. Many nurses and midwives suffered alone during it and beyond with little or no support, yet, they had to continue promoting health and wellbeing among the general population.”

As part of her research, Enobong is surveying nurses across the UL Hospitals Group.

“I thought my research could increase awareness of the need to support nurses and midwives in promoting and maintaining their health and wellbeing so they can provide optimal care to others.”

In March 2023, Enobong gave birth to her third child, Mighty, younger brother to Emma (24) and Best (10). Enobong returned to work the following November, and was eager to continue breastfeeding Mighty, who was then eight months old.

“I was breastfeeding exclusively for six months and after six months I knew I wanted to continue.

“Culturally, breastfeeding is the norm for feeding babies in Nigeria. Although there may be reasons why some mothers cannot breastfeed, that would mostly be circumstantial and rarely a first choice. The community would support a nursing mother and readily offer seats, drinks, free transportation, extra food at events and general comforts to breastfeeding mothers.

“There is large scale exemption from commitment to societal engagements for breastfeeding mothers because there is a general understanding that breastfeeding mothers have to be supported. This support is not policy-based but built on family values and community spirit.

“It is policy in Nigeria for nurses who are breastfeeding mothers to be allowed a specific flexible working schedule. For example, they can start work one hour late and finish one hour early and are exempt from night shifts. From my experience, this really supports breastfeeding. Armed with that background, I sought a similar arrangement in my workplace in Ireland.”

In July 2023, the entitlement to breastfeeding breaks under the Irish Maternity Protection Act was extended from six months to two years.

This means, by law, you are entitled to breastfeeding breaks at work until your child’s second birthday. You can take up to one hour with pay for an eight-hour working day on top of your normal rest breaks.

In the months before she resumed work, Enobong contacted her managers at St. John’s Hospital to ask if she could take advantage of the new legislation. With a policy – that was developed in 2021 – of fully supporting mothers who are breastfeeding or expressing breast milk during their working day, the hospital was happy to facilitate her, and an initial plan was put in place.

“They gave me the listening ear,” Enobong explains. “I started work, and we had several plans such as breaking in the middle of the day to go home and feed, but the logistics of that didn’t work out. I tried coming to work 30 minutes late and leaving 30 minutes early but that didn’t work out either. So the plan now is that I leave work one hour early – instead of finishing my shift at six o’clock, I finish at five. It was a process of trial and error, but in the end, it has worked out well.”

Enobong’s son Mighty, now 18 months old, attends crèche during the day. Her working arrangement allows Enobong to breastfeed Mighty before and after work.

For those considering returning to work while continuing to breastfeed, Enobong shares this advice: “Sometimes we may think that the employer is not willing, but I understand that the expectations differ from the employee to the employer, so that we need to reach a common ground between employee and employer.

“That's where it works and I would encourage nursing mothers to be open to that conversation. Be patient and negotiate and you will reach a balance.”

On keeping work, study and family life going, Enobong says, “I work with a strict schedule. People respect my time and I respect people’s time. With my children, we all work together and know we have things to do and we plan. We are a happy bunch and we keep going”, she laughs.

As part of National Breastfeeding Week, Enobong is taking part in a symposium taking place at University of Limerick on Wednesday, 2 October entitled “Promoting Breastfeeding for Future Generations”.