Finding a Place to Breastfeed at Work (Shore Publishing, LLC)

Stonington - Some female employees steal away to an office bathroom stall to do it while others have secure access to relaxing, company-furnished rooms. For breastfeeding mothers, doing so in the workplace can depend entirely on employers.

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, “Many women stop breastfeeding when they return to work outside the home. Because of this, not enough babies in this country are breastfed, and few are breastfed for one year. The Academy believes that more babies would receive the benefits of breast milk if more employers provided appropriate facilities and adequate time in the workplace for expression of breast milk.”

In 2001, state legislation was enacted so employers would make a “reasonable effort” to provide convenient places for working mothers to express milk or nurse their babies; specifically, a “place near the work area that is not a toilet stall,” as long as that effort doesn't place undue hardships on employers. Even with the passage of that legislation five years ago, working mothers are still experiencing wildly different workplace arrangements for breastfeeding.



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