Table 3 Main themes expressed

Economic difficulties

32

“As a single mother of two, I am mainly worried financially”

“I would be happy to stay at home with the baby until he was at a stage of eating more solid food, but, sadly, this is not financially possible. It is a shame that maternity leave is so short”

The need for lactation counselling

21

“Before giving birth, I really wanted to breastfeed, and I intended to breastfeed in the first few days, with the help of the lactation counselors but because of the Corona virus, the lactation counselors did not provide a service in the hospital where I gave birth, and this harmed the correct feeding process for my daughter”

“I express milk, and feed with a bottle because of the crisis. I intended to breastfeed but because limited counselling in the hospital and lack of external guidance at the time of the crisis, and difficulty in feeding, it did not succeed”

Lack of availability because other children are at home

12

“It is hard to breastfeed for a long time, with other children at home, (I have 6-year-olds twins) and so when they were at home, I gave more formula than I would have given had they not been at home”

“The main problem with breastfeeding during this time was that the mother hasn’t got time to rest as she is caring for the other children, and so she hasn’t enough milk”

“The Corona stole my time with my baby as I was all the time with the older sister (2.8 years old). I wanted a corrective (restorative) experience following the first maternity leave “

Emotional stress because of the crisis

11

“I think that at the beginning of the crisis, the amount of milk decreased because of stress, but with the help of expressing and perseverance, it has returned to the regular amount”

“As a result of the crisis less energy was available to invest in breastfeeding when there was a difficulty with the feeding”

Positive feelings

10

“I am definitely happy that I am exclusively feeding my baby at this time- this strengthens my feeling that I am protecting her. Incidentally, good quality lactation counselling in hospital is critical, especially for premature babies”

“It actually worked out well for me. I went back for 3 weeks, and then there was the lockdown. So, I received more quality time with my daughter”

Other

10

“Breastfeeding is very important especially when there is a danger to health- the transfer of antibodies from the mother to the baby. It should be encouraged in any way”

“In my opinion, it is extremely important to encourage breastfeeding, with or without connection to this crisis or others”