Workplace Lactation Programs: Good for Working Families. Good for Business TM
- Background Info
- Using the Kit
- For Business
- For Employees
- En Español
Corporate Voices for Working Families has launched an initiative to help solve a problem facing many working mothers, especially those in hourly and lower-wage positions – the need for breastfeeding support in the workplace. In partnership with Abbott Nutrition, a division of Abbott (a global, broad-based health care company), Working Mother Media and a select group of companies, this new program aims to give employers the information and tools they need to reach hourly and lower-wage workers and help establish workplace lactation programs.
A key component of the initiative – Workplace Lactation Programs: Good for Working Families. Good for Business. TM – is a workplace lactation toolkit that provides a practical guide, instructions, tips, template materials (in English and Spanish), and resources for breastfeeding support in the workplace. Important elements of the program include recommendations for employers on how to support employees with breastfed babies, guides for working mothers who breastfeed, and sample promotional materials to alert employees to the resources provided by the employer program.
The Workplace Lactation toolkit was developed in consultation with a select group of member companies and healthcare professionals, including:
| Abbott | Knowledge Universe Educ. | The TJX Companies, Inc |
| Ceridian Corporation | LifeCare | Susan J. May, MD |
| CVS Caremark | Marriott International Inc. | Bridget Swinney, MS, RD |
| IBM | MetLife | |
| ICF International | PNC Financial Services |
Corporate Voices recognizes that the hourly workforce is especially vulnerable and faces difficult challenges to breastfeeding at work, including inflexible work schedules, lack of proper facilities, and lack of proper support from management. To this end, Corporate Voices is also engaged in outreach to the WIC community and has held discussions and focus groups to identify what role WIC agencies can play, in coordination with employers, to strengthen breastfeeding support at the workplace. Corporate Voices recognizes that successful breastfeeding will require a community-wide effort to increase breastfeeding support for mothers throughout society, however workplace support remains a key intervention for the quality and duration of breastfeeding. We will remain engaged with businesses and the WIC community so that breastfeeding support is present and available to hourly workers at two very integral areas of their lives.
Health Care Reform and Workplace Lactation: What it Means for Businesses and Breastfeeding Mothers
With the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in early 2010, the Fair Labor Standards Act was amended to include a provision titled, "Reasonable Break Time for Nursing Mothers." This provision (Section 4207 of the Affordable Care Act) requires employers to provide space and time for nursing mothers to express milk at work. The requirement obligates employers to provide “a reasonable break time…and a place, other than a bathroom,” where mothers can express milk. This development marks a step in the right direction for overcoming a significant challenge to corporate and public policy supporting nursing mothers at work. Corporate Voices will continue to monitor the implementation of this law, and will offer technical assistance to businesses by helping them implement workplace lactation programs that will suit their needs, enable them to comply with new federal regulations, and that will improve their business bottom line and the lives of their employees.
Corporate Voices will publish an updated version of this toolkit in late 2010 to help employers comply with the amended Fair Labor Standards Act and the workplace lactation requirement. The updated toolkit will include expanded and additional practical materials that employers can use to determine:
- What kind of lactation program or policy will meet their employees’ needs and will help them comply with new federal regulations
- The business case for and health benefits of breastfeeding;
- How to implement and set up a workplace lactation program;
- How to effectively communicate their program to employees. Recognizing the diversity among hourly workers in America, Corporate Voices' toolkit will provide breastfeeding tips and techniques in 21 different languages;
- How to measure success and the impact of their program on employee performance to ensure program sustainability.
Related Materials
The Workplace Lactation Programs toolkit provides everything you need to design a program to meet the needs of all your employees:
- Employer Guide to supporting employees with breastfed babies, including business benefits and practical steps to start your program.
- Paycheck stuffer to alert employees to the resources provided by the program (in English and Spanish).
- Poster to display in employee lounges or other public spaces to promote the program (in English and Spanish).
- Flyers to distribute to employees to educate them about the program (in English and Spanish).
Workplace lactation is an important issue for women and their employers. A mother’s choice of how to best feed her baby is a critical and intensely personal decision. Yet, many lower-wage working women are not offered the time and support they need to make the choice that’s right for their families, because their workplace does not offer policies or programs that support breastfeeding. The relationship between workplace support and sustained breastfeeding or expressing milk is clear across the working population. As many full-time working mothers start breastfeeding as do part-time or unemployed mothers, and many stop within 3 months. Workplace lactation programs make great sense for employers, too—not only do they increase employee morale, loyalty, productivity, and retention, but for every $1 employers invest in workplace lactation programs, they can gain back $3 in reduced health care costs.
This toolkit is designed to help hourly and lower-wage employees make good choices about infant feeding, and to educate lower-wage employers about the benefits of workplace lactation programs and policies (resources in English and Spanish).
Here are some resources to help you get started:
Breastfeeding is good for Babies—And You Too! You can continue breastfeeding, evenwhen you return to work. Ask your supervisor for more information about how you can get support through the Workplace Lactation Programs initiative
Here are some resources for Working Families:
La lactancia materna es buena para los bebés, ¡y para usted también! Puede continuar amamantando incluso cuando regrese a su trabajo. Pídale más información a su supervisor acerca de cómo puede obtener apoyo a través de la iniciativa Programas de lactancia en el lugar de trabajo.
Aqui hay recursos para Familias que Trabajan:
