Employers reap great benefits by enhancing their support of breastfeeding employees. Breastfed babies tend to be healthier than formula-fed babies, and they have lower healthcare costs. Parents of breastfed babies need less time off work to care for a sick baby. By supporting and encouraging their breastfeeding employees, employers can enjoy greater employee job satisfaction, decreased employee absenteeism, better productivity, less employee turnover, and a higher public perception of the company. Plus, they can feel good about doing their part to build a healthier community, which benefits everyone!

Childbirth Graphics is committed to nurturing healthy babies and growing healthy families. As part of that commitment, we have an extensive line of breastfeeding education materials that are ideal to teach expectant and new mothers about all aspects of breastfeeding. Read on to learn about ways employers can support breastfeeding and to discover some of our breastfeeding teaching resources that employers can use to provide breastfeeding support to employees.

Employers must comply with all applicable legislation and regulations regarding breastfeeding in the workplace. Here are some suggestions to consider as employers work to meet or exceed compliance with all workplace breastfeeding requirements.

Create a company lactation policy. Having a breastfeeding policy in place at your organization helps ensure that your business is complying with all applicable regulations and helps supervisors and employees know what their roles and expectations are. Having a policy in place demonstrates to all staff that the company is committed to breastfeeding, ensuring that a breastfeeding employee is allowed the time and privacy to express her breastmilk and that the breastfeeding employee’s position will be covered by another employee, if necessary, during lactation breaks.

Provide a designated space for breastfeeding employees to express breastmilk. This space should be private and shielded from view from other employees. The space cannot be a bathroom. A chair and flat surface for pumping equipment should be provided. Employers can enhance this space by making it as comfortable, inviting, and relaxing as possible. A fan or white noise machine can cover the sound of a breast pump, making the breastfeeding employee feel more comfortable.

A small refrigerator can be used to store breastmilk. A sink should be nearby for cleaning any pumping equipment. Employers can provide breastfeeding employees with a storage locker for their breast pumps and other pumping equipment. Employers also may wish to provide breast pumps for their breastfeeding employees (which they can use with their own attachments) so that they do not need to carry breast pumps to work.

Extend parental leave, provide work-from-home options, or offer flexible scheduling. Depending on an employee’s position and job responsibilities, employers may have multiple ways to provide breastfeeding support to her. Extended parental leave can provide a breastfeeding mother more time to maintain successful breastfeeding before returning to work. If a breastfeeding mother can work from home, she can breastfeed her baby on demand. It is recommended that babies be exclusively fed breastmilk for their first 6 months of life; as complementary foods are introduced, babies should continue to breastfeed until age 1, or longer if desired. Extended parental leave, work-from-home options, or flexible scheduling can make it easier for a breastfeeding mother to breastfeed her baby.

Provide on-site child care. Some organizations may be able to offer on-site or nearby child care so that breastfeeding employees can breastfeed their babies during lactation breaks. Being able to breastfeed during breaks provides bonding time between a mother and her baby and involves fewer steps than pumping breastmilk, which requires cleaning of pumping equipment after each use and safe storage of breastmilk.

Offer lactation support information and services. Some employers may wish to contract with a lactation consultant to offer classes to pregnant women and their partners and to be available to support breastfeeding employees. Employers may also provide pregnant and breastfeeding employees with breastfeeding education handouts to help them breastfeed successfully.

Childbirth Graphics has a wide variety of breastfeeding teaching resources that are perfect for employer-sponsored breastfeeding education classes and workshops. When employers support their breastfeeding employees, employers, employees and their families, and society reap the benefits of a healthier community.

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