Joanne
Welcome to LACTNET!
Your company breastfeeding policy is
wonderful! This is a great initiative. I would
just delete the second sentence in this clause,
"Permit breastfeeding employees to take
additional breaks of up to one hour per full
working day to feed their baby or to express
their breast milk. If the employee prefers, this
hour can be taken to shorten her working day."
We found in Zimbabwe that all mothers would take
advantage of this same way of using the nursing
breaks. While it facilitates direct mother-baby
contact by allowing the mother and baby to spend
more time together at home, it does nothing to
help working mothers continue breastfeeding - all
mothers (breastfeeding or not) took the extra
hour - either coming in later in the morning, or
going home earlier in the evening. But if the
purpose of the breaks is to facilitate
breastfeeding or breastmilk-feeding, then
bunching them all up into a single hour will not
achieve that end - better to spread the hour into
3 or 4 separate breaks so that the mother can
nurse the baby (if in a creche at the workplace
or nearby, or if the carer will bring the baby to
the workplace), or express her milk at regular
intervals while at work, to provide EBM for the
baby and regular drainage of the breasts to maintain her supply.
Pamela Morrison IBCLC
Rustington, England
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Date: Fri, 11 Dec 2009 07:17:39 -0500
From: Joanne Whistler <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Hello, and company breastfeeding policies
Hello everyone,
I’ve been reading lactnet for a while now, but
this is my first post. Although I don’t work
directly with breastfeeding mothers, I work in
healthcare and do my best to get positive
messages about breastfeeding included in as many
blogs and government / NHS consultation responses
as I can. I live and work in northern England
I am currently trying to get my employer to put a
breastfeeding policy in place for its employees.
I quite liked the following policy outline on the
UK Equality and Human Rights Commission website,
but can anyone suggest anything else that should
be included and why? Does anyone have any other
good policies on BF employees they could share
with me? I hope this is an appropriate topic to
post on, please let me know if not.
Best wishes,
Joanne
PS apologies if I inadvertently sent a partial
message earlier, my computer seems to be doing some strange things
The company recognises the benefits of
breastfeeding to mothers and infants and
therefore encourages and supports staff members
to breastfeed their babies, including upon their
return to work. ‘Breastfeeding’ includes
expressing milk and the same rights under this
policy will apply to employees who wish to
express milk to give to their baby. To this end, the company will:
• Inform all employees of the rights provided
under this policy aas part of equal opportunities
training or the induction programme in order to
foster a positive attitude towards breastfeeding.
• Inform all pregnant employees of the benefits
of breastfeeding and their rights under this policy.
• Perform a risk assessment in relation to all
employees who plann to continue breastfeeding after their maternity leave.
• Identify a named manager who will be
responsible for performingg the risk assessment
and who should be given notice of the
employee’s intention to continue breastfeeding
or expressing milk on her return to work.
• If necessary, adjust the working hours and/or
conditions of breeastfeeding employees, in consultation with each employee.
• Permit breastfeeding employees to take
additional breaks of up to one hour per full
working day to feed their baby or to express
their breast milk. If the employee prefers, this
hour can be taken to shorten her working day.
• Make available a private, comfortable and
appropriately equippeed room for breastfeeding
employees to feed their baby or express their milk.
• Specify a fridge where breast milk may be
stored securely and sspecify a location where
expressing equipment can be stored.
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