Rachel Myr wrote "I think one of the important things we can do as people
who work with breastfeeding mothers is to work for changes on a societal
level so that mothers will be able to be near their children for at least
the first 6 months.  It would be so great if the International Labor
Organization recommendations for maternity leave were made to apply in the
US too, allowing for breastfeeding breaks and real leave for every woman who
needs it.  After that, we need to ensure that child care facilities of all
kinds truly respect childrens' needs..."

This is the view we take in the Women & Work Task Force at WABA: there needs
to be major change on a societal level! The ILO standard is only a start--in
the year 2000 they raised the standard for paid maternity leave from 12 to
14 weeks, which falls way short of six months! Also, some countries require
part of the leave...often it is a period of six weeks...to be taken BEFORE
the due date. This is a great way to assure that women get some time to rest
before they go into labor, but it eats up precious breastfeeding days. So
even countries that are able to ratify ILO Convention 183 don't have to give
mothers significant support for six months of exclusive breastfeeding. It's
up to all of us to push for those changes.

I also loved Janice Reynolds' post encouraging women to bargain for
workplace accommodations. This could work well for women in work settings
where labor is tight. I would LOVE to see nurses in the USA really push
hospitals to provide nursing breaks (with adequate coverage) and near-site
child care...and to demand those accommodations for ALL the women who work
for the hospital, including housekeeping, laundry, security, kitchen,
medical, residents, and administrative staff. A hospital is a microcosm of
the whole workforce, so it's a great opportunity for all the "sisters" to
pull together and advocate for each other.

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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