California
Lactation Accommodation Law
Breastfeeding
Friendly Workplace Policies (5MB PDF)
Economic Benefits of Breastfeeding: A
Review and Analysis (Complete Study - PDF)
Economic Benefits of
Breastfeeding: Examining the Well Being of Children
Visit
Breastfeeding
Works web site for more
information.
More information on AB1025.
Resources
related to California Lactation Accommodation Law (WIC)
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Breastfed babies are healthy babies and healthy babies
are good for business. Healthy babies mean fewer medical expenses, which is a tremendous
financial incentive for a self-insured company. Companies that promote and support
breastfeeding for their employees save money and increase productivity! Both employees and
employers benefit from lactation programs in the workplace.
Benefits to the Employer
- Reduced staff turnover and loss of skilled workers after the birth of a
child
- Reduced sick time/personal leave for breastfeeding women because their
infants are more resistant to illness
- Lower health care costs associated with healthier, breastfed
infants
- Higher job productivity, employee satisfaction and
morale
- Added recruitment incentive for women
- Enhanced reputation as a company concerned for the welfare of its
employees and their families
An absence of just one day costs the Los Angeles Department of Water and
Power average $360 (for a $15 per hour employee). And it takes one and one-half days to
have someone else do that employee’s work.
"It works to everyone’s advantage to
show people that we really care about them and their babies," says Tory
Arriaga, a
nurse at PanEnergy Corp, Houston. "The Company wins because we’ve got an
employee who is very happy and who is probably gong to have less sick time and a healthier
baby at home."
"This newfound corporate interest arises from studies
showing breast-fed babies have fewer minor illnesses. Sick babies pile up medical bills
and frequently keep their mothers and fathers out of work. Providing new mothers with a
private room, breast pumps, refrigerators and an extra break or two a day becomes a
money-saving proposition."
Benefits to the Employee
- Facilitates the mother’s postpartum
recovery
- Reduces the incidence and severity of allergies and of ear and
respiratory infections in infants, which translates into less time off
and sick leave taken
- Provides the most complete, easily digested, convenient and economical
source of nourishment for infants
- Creates a special closeness between mother and
infant
- Enhances the mother’s self-esteem and
confidence
- May lessen the risk of breast cancer
- See Benefits of
Breastfeeding article for an inclusive list
"Providing the opportunity and the resources for new mothers to be
able to continue breastfeeding after they return to work enhances employee morale and
productivity".
"I’ve continued to nurse my daughter because this service is
available," says Kim Trepton, 29, an executive recruiter who uses the lactation room
at First Chicago NBD, Chicago, to provide milk for her 5-month-old daughter.
There are three essential requirements to ensure that employees
can successfully combine work and breastfeeding:
Time: Allow employees sufficient break time to pump, or provide
flexible work hours.
Space: Have available comfortable, clean and private
space for expression and storing breastmilk or provide nearby or on-site child care so
that employees can breastfeed on break and lunch.
Support: Develop "mother-friendly" workplace
policies, improve attitudes towards breastfeeding by educating workers and management
about the benefits of breastfeeding.
For more information about breastfeeding and the worksite
contact Breastfeeding Works at info@breastfeedingworks.org.
References.
Specific references available upon request. An excellent source
of additional information can be found in Breastfeeding:
A Guide for the Medical Profession, 1999 (5th Ed) Ruth A.
Lawrence and Robert M. Lawrence, MD Mosby Year Book
Use of Breastfeeding Fact Sheets developed by The
Breastfeeding Task Force of Greater Los Angeles
The Breastfeeding Task Force of Greater Los
Angeles has developed the Breastfeeding Fact Sheets as a service, and site
visitors are welcomed and encouraged to use them. If the Breastfeeding Fact
Sheets are used "as is", we request that the Breastfeeding Task Force
of Greater Los Angeles be credited. If the Breastfeeding Fact Sheets are
modified or adapted, we request that we be credited as "adapted from
...", and that a copy of the adapted material be sent to us. Site visitors
are also encouraged to draw upon and use the information contained in the
Breastfeeding Fact Sheets as resource material to support their efforts to
promote, support and protect breastfeeding.
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