Breastfeeding at Work—A Sound Business Practice
New York is one of the few states where it is legal for a woman to breastfeed her
child in public and private areas as long as she is authorized to be there, yet new
mothers are not legally encouraged to breastfeed at work. Despite the multitude
of benefits to the baby's health, and the fact that breastfeeding saves families an
average of $1,000.00 in healthcare costs during the baby's first year, only 6
states (CA, CT, HI, IL, MN, and TN) require employers to provide reasonable
accommodations for breastfeeding employees, such as break time to express
milk during the workday.
Why is nursing so rarely encouraged on the job? Only a tiny percentage of
American companies provide new mothers with the break time for breastfeeding
and/or with the facilities for pumping breast milk, both of which are essential to
the optimal health of infants and new mother's ability to lactate. A woman's
milk supply is directly related to how much stimulation her breasts receive; in
other words, the more a baby nurses, the greater her milk supply. However if a
mother is unable to breastfeed or pump frequently enough, she'll gradually lose
her milk supply, which can result in weaning her baby prematurely.
Additionally, if a mother is unable to lactate during the workday, her breasts will
become engorged, putting her at risk of developing plugged milk ducts. This
can lead to mastitis, a breast infection, requiring the use of antibiotics and bed
rest. In other words, she won't be able to work.
In addition, studies have shown that babies in day care whose mothers provide
breast milk miss fewer day care days and their mothers miss fewer work days
compared with those babies who were partially breast-fed and partially
formula-fed and the mothers who must then stay home from work to care for
their ill babies. The mothers of completely formula-fed babies had the most
days out of work to care for their sick babies. Most mothers whose employers
give breastfeeding support find that its easy to integrate into their routine, and
the work of pumping is a small price to pay for the peace of mind of a healthier
child and self. Increasing numbers of companies, in response to studies
showing genuine economic benefits, are instituting policies supportive of
continued breastfeeding for their employees. In other words, a progressive and
civilized breastfeeding policy saves money for corporations. Corporations may
not care about their female employees, their families or doing the right thing,
but the straight cost-benefit analyis may yield more child and female-friendly
policies in the long run as a work environment convenient and conducive to
breastfeeding will save your company money.
(Source: LLLI.org and medicalreporter.health.org)
