Many Washington employers have improved their support to breastfeeding employees. Below are just a few.
Washington State Department of Health: Jean O’Leary and Gwen Marshall, two participants in the initial training, are also employees at the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) in the WIC and Nutrition Program. They worked within DOH to help draft a formal written policy to support breastfeeding employees, which was accepted and instituted in July 2010. The policy defines how the department will support employees who are breastfeeding as they return to work. Prior to this policy there was no official support for breastfeeding employees at DOH. DOH is one of the first state agencies in Washington to adopt such a policy. To celebrate and inform DOH staff about the policy, the DOH Breastfeeding Team and the Health and Productivity Program held a tea during World breastfeeding Week, the first week of August. They provided information about the new policy, had guest speakers, and provided an opportunity for moms and pregnant employees to get together and learn about the resources available to them at work.
North Town Mall and Valley Mall, Spokane: Gail Peterson, a participant in the initial training is also an active member of the Spokane Breastfeeding Coalition. She made a contact at GGP, a real estate investment firm that owns and operates retail mall locations around the United States, including two in Spokane. Sean is enthusiastic about the Business Case, and is working with Gail to create a lactation space within each mall. Their vision includes a general nursing lounge for all mall customers, as well as locked rooms with keypad access for mall employees to pump during breaks. This is an exciting opportunity for GGP and the malls in Spokane to serve as a state-wide example, as well as a national example for other GGP mall properties.
Birth and Beyond, Seattle: Michele McGraw attended the initial training and is an employee of Birth and Beyond, a small, privately owned retail store in Madison Valley, Seattle. The neighborhood is home to many small businesses, and is a close-knit merchant community. Birth and Beyond was already baby and breastfeeding friendly for staff. The workplace policy allows for babes in carriers to accompany mom to work for up to the first 6 months or until baby requires more mobility than working with customers allows. They have a nursing room within the store, with a comfortable chair and educational materials. It was already standard practice to allow store customers to use the nursing room, and following the initial training Birth and Beyond decided to expand their reach to the surrounding business community. Michele did a brief presentation to the Madison Valley Merchants Board in May to let them know about Birth and Beyond’s intention to become a community nursing hub, providing a space for any employee in the surrounding community to nurse or pump in their lactation room, including the use of a hospital grade pump if needed. Michele is creating informational packets using Business Case materials and will be delivering them in person to the 100 or so businesses in the community in early September. Birth and Beyond offers a Breastfeeding and Returning to Work class in the store once a month, and has about 15 mothers attending each month.