Becoming a breastfeeding friendly employer carries many benefits for employers, mothers and children. Studies show that employers who provide a breastfeeding-friendly workplace reap rewards.
For information on specific financial benefits to employers, download the
handout, The Business Case for Breastfeeding.
Benefits of being a Breastfeeding-Friendly Employer
- Less staff turnover and increased retention of skilled workers after the birth of their children.
- Less leave taken by parents of breastfed infants. Breastfed infants are more resistant to illness.
- Lower and less health care costs because breastfed infants are healthier.
- Higher job productivity, employee satisfaction and morale.
- Enhanced loyalty among employees.
- Added recruitment incentives for women.
- Improved positive image in the community.
- Healthier workforce for the future.
How to become a Breastfeeding-Friendly Employer
Download the Breastfeeding Friendly Employer Checklist to see how your current policies support breastfeeding employees, or use it as a guideline for setting up a new program.
There are many ways in which employers can support breastfeeding employees
- Create a workplace environment that supports and respects a woman’s decision to breastfeed. Recognize that breastfeeding is a benefit to the workplace and encourage that recognition in others.
- Develop a written policy (Sample Workplace Breastfeeding Policy) that states your company’s support of a woman’s decision to breastfeed her infant(s) and describes the worksite accommodations and/or benefits available to her.
- Make the policy part of your company’s written policies on parenting and/or maternity benefits.
- Inform all pregnant employees/parents of this policy as early in their pregnancy as possible.
- Tell new employees about this policy or give them a copy as part of new employee orientation.
- Provide a 20- to 30-minute break, both morning and afternoon, for the employee to (a) nurse her infant or (b) express her milk. If necessary, adjust the beginning and/or ending time of work to accommodate these breaks. For example, if two 15-minute breaks are allowed to all employees, the breastfeeding employee starts work 10 minutes earlier and leaves work 10 minutes later to allow for two 25-minute breaks.
- Make a private area available for nursing or expressing milk. It should be quiet, clean and have enough room for a comfortable chair.
- Provide a place for storing breast milk. If an office refrigerator is not available, a safe place to keep a cooler is sufficient.
- Provide a clean, safe water source and sink somewhere within the worksite for washing hands and rinsing out any breast pump equipment.
Application for Joining the Project
Support your employees and get acknowledged! All employers who join will be recognized for their efforts and will receive a certificate of achievement. Please submit the following form to join the project. And also include the Employer Checklist with your application so that appropriate recognition can be given.
Resources and Additional Support
- Sample Workplace Breastfeeding Policy
- Explore childcare options such as on-site childcare or subsidized care at nearby childcare centers. Consider accessibility to childcare in facility planning.
- Provide options for breastfeeding employees such as part-time employment, job sharing, flex schedules and/or a gradual return to work.
- Allow the nursing infant to be brought to work or allow the employee to leave the workplace to breastfeed her infant. This is important when there is no on-site childcare and the employee must return to work within six weeks of giving birth.
- Provide a breastfeeding education and support system through one or more of the following:
- Written educational handouts/pamphlets/books.
- On-site maternity/postpartum/breastfeeding mother support group.
- Lactation consultant services, either paid for or provided on-site
Questions? Contact the Breastfeeding Coalition of Washington or call 206-281-8032. Breastfeeding-friendly employers are recognized on the BCW website and in the Breastfeeding Matters newsletter.
We gratefully acknowledge the Vermont Department of Health for allowing us to adapt their materials.