Professor Mary Rose Sweeney
Executive Vice Dean for Education, Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, RCSI
New research aims to address practical, real-world gaps in how workplaces and the built environment support breastfeeding mothers and menopausal women in Ireland.
Ireland has one of the lowest breastfeeding rates globally. While some reasons are known, it’s not fully understood how the built environment influences this decision.
Professor Mary Rose Sweeney, Executive Vice Dean for Education, Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, RCSI, is supervising a PhD research project led by Andyno Akpanukoh, which hopes to answer the question: ‘Is Ireland breastfeeding friendly from the perspective of the built environment?’
“There’s very little literature on where breastfeeding actually takes place,” explains Professor Sweeney. “By taking part in this study, mothers will help us understand what makes a place breastfeeding-friendly, and whether changes could make it easier to continue breastfeeding.”
Citizen science photovoice research
The research uses an integrated citizen science and photovoice research methodology, which enables them to explore actual experiences of mothers.
“We can try to locate breastfeeding spaces, but this may not be reflective of reality,” explains Professor Sweeney. “Using photovoice allows us to capture the reality of the breastfeeding environment directly from mothers.”
“We hope to turn these findings into a framework for breastfeeding-friendly spaces, informing policy for HR managers, urban planners and people with responsibility over the built environment.”
We want to lead the conversation and foster a supportive culture for women, creating new knowledge and systems which empower the women of Ireland
Menopause champions
Piloting a new CPD education programme across three hospitals, RCSI is also introducing trained menopause champions to promote a more supportive environment for nurses and midwives. “For years, there’s been stigma around breastfeeding and menopause,” says Professor Sweeney. “We want to lead the conversation and foster a supportive culture for women, creating new knowledge and systems which empower the women of Ireland.”
This pilot programme brings together nursing, physiotherapy, dietetics and pharmacy across three hospital sites to train menopause champions who can confidently support colleagues through pre-, peri- and post-menopause. By combining education on symptoms and the menopause journey with practical guidance on bone health, strength training, pelvic floor health, nutrition and options for hormone replacement therapy, RCSI is building visible, interdisciplinary expertise within each site that can be rolled out across Ireland.
