I didn't get many responses to yesterday's query, so I went Googling. I did
find something that looks like national standards in the US from
AAP/APHA/and National Resource Center for Health and Safety in Child Care.
This document is dated 2002, and it actually is quite direct about the role
of childcare in protecting bf.  

http://nrc.uchsc.edu/CFOC/HTMLVersion/Chapter_4.html 

"The facility shall encourage and support breastfeeding."

"Except in the presence of rare genetic diseases, the clear advantage of
human milk over any formula should lead to vigorous efforts by child care
providers to promote and sustain breastfeeding for mothers who are willing
to nurse their babies whenever they can and to pump and supply their milk to
the child care facility when direct feeding from the breast is not possible.
Even if infants receive formula during the child care day, some
breastfeeding or expressed human milk from their mothers is beneficial." 

In other words, not only should a childcare center "permit" breastfeeding
(language that I found in the Virginia standards, last updated in 2005), it
should vigorously assist any mother WHO WANTS TO sustain breastfeeding once
her child is in care. This is more than a poster on the wall. Maybe it's a
mother support group at the center. Maybe it's breastfeeding peer counselor
training for staff members. Maybe it's having a Lactation Consultant
available for consultations, just like having a child psychologist available
to help with kids the teachers are concerned about.

My other good "find" was a Philippine standard from 2004.
http://www.dswd.gov.ph/images/articles/AO_29_2004.pdf

In this standard, childcare centers are required either to provide practical
help and support themselves for breastfeeding mothers or to refer mothers
for help with breastfeeding. 

This is exciting...to find that some of the folks who make the rules for
childcare are already aware of breastfeeding and are working to build
support!

Chris


Chris Mulford, RN, IBCLC
LLL Leader Reserve
working for WIC in South Jersey (Eastern USA)
Co-coordinator, Women & Work Task Force, WABA
 
 

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