The latest data shows that around half of British women are still breastfeeding their babies after six weeks. World Breastfeeding Week is an international event protecting, promoting and supporting breastfeeding as crucial for the health of our planet and its people. It’s an important opportunity to talk about ways and ideas for supporting nursing women.
Employers can support breastfeeding employees with:
- flexible policies that allow employees that live nearby to go home or to a nearby nursery to feed their child.
- having a relative or child minder bringing the child to the workplace to be fed.
Breastfeeding in the workplace
In most cases, employees will express milk, store it in a cool place. Then take it home later to feed the baby from a bottle.
Here’s where facilities matter. Expressing milk usually requires the use of either an electric or manual pump. And this equipment must be sterile in order to avoid contaminating the milk. It’s vital that the woman has access to clean, hygienic facilities to express.
A workplace nursing room should be:
- Private, and not located in a bathroom
- A clean, sanitary space close to the employee’s own working area
- Fitted with locking doors
- Have comfortable seating
- Have a sink for cleaning pump parts
- Offer a refrigerator for keeping milk
- A place where mothers can display images of baby (this can help produce milk).
Small changes can make a huge difference for both mother and child. This year we celebrate breastfeeding as the foundation of life.
#WBW2018 #WABA #FoundationOfLife #breastfeeding #SDGs #worldbreastfeedingweek2018