Breastfeeding policies and breastfeeding support programs in the mother’s workplace

Abstract

Women should never be forced to make a choice between mother-work and other work. Many women mistakenly think they cannot breastfeed if they plan to return to work, and thus they may not talk with their employers about their intention to breastfeed or how breastfeeding might be supported at their workplace. All breastfeeding policies and strategies underline the importance of providing support for lactating mothers and highlight the need to promote specific interventions in the workplace. Possible strategies for working mothers include having the mother keep the baby with her while she works, allowing the mother to go to the baby to breastfeed during the workday, telecommuting, offering flexible work schedules, maintaining part-time work schedules, and using on-site or nearby child care centres.

Keywords::

• Breastfeeding
• working mothers
• support programs in the workplace

Declaration of Interest: The author declares no conflicts of interest.