Eye on Parenting Blog
CBS News/ January 31, 2011, 2:18 PM

New Era Coming for Breastfeeding in the Workplace?

Oleg Kozlov
Breastfeeding seems to be the uncomfortable topic that everyone knows is healthy, but no one really wants to talk about -- especially when it comes to the workplace.

However, when the health care bill signed by President Barack Obama goes into effect, everyone will be talking about breastfeeding -- especially employers.

That's because under the new Fair Labor Standards Act, employers will be federally mandated to provide women with breaks and a place to breastfeed.

But how will some women do it? After all, working moms include park rangers, bus drivers, postal workers and police officers. Where and when can they get a break?

It's not an easy question. Do you have a solution?

The Department of Labor is asking for your input through Feb. 22. You can contribute your thoughts here.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, three out of four new moms start out breastfeeding, but the number of women breastfeeding beyond three months has remained low.

This initiative could make it easier for women to breastfeed longer. The effect on American moms and their babies could be wide-ranging, the health benefits numerous. According to the National Women's Health Information Center, a government-run organization, breastfeeding provides disease-fighting antibodies that can help protect infants from several types of illnesses and may reduce the risk of some health problems, such as breast cancer and type 2 diabetes, in mothers who breastfeed.

© 2011 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.
10 Comments Add a Comment
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to_john says:
"Drape themselves properly"? Pleeez, what could possibly need to be draped? Do you put a blanket over yourself when you sit at the dinner table? Maybe if the right wingnuts whose distorted view of humanity and civility were covered instead of the nursing mothers, then we'd have fewer rapes, murders, and pedophiles. Breast feeding is normal, healthy, and in no way necessary to hide.
If women could CHOOSE to stay home (or CHOOSE not to) with their children with universal health care instead of driven away from their children to be slave labor at Walmart, this conversation wouldn't even need to take place. America, get into the 21st century with labor, family health, and health care, and maybe we'll have a future.
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MsZhansun says:
NURSING your child is the most potent immune system enhancement that exists. And it has been throughout the history of MANKIND. However, if we use more nurturing terms to describe the event, like "NURSING" rather than 'breastfeeding', I think people will exhibit less 'sexual anxiety' or uncomfort when the topic is discussed openly. Years ago the word 'pregnant' was not used to refer to a woman who was 'expecting' or 'in the family way', but now the word is used so openly that no one even thinks twice about saying it. Maybe it's the choice of words that makes people a little uncomfortable; and maybe the fact that a male co-worker may get a little excited if he accidentally or intentionally walks in on his boss while she's nursing. Ouch!! It's a mother's topic, and I think that men shouldn't be allowed in the designated 'nursing' areas of the workplace. And public nursing areas should not be INSIDE the LADIES RESTROOM. Ughh!!
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barbaram99 says:
I know the the mothers can pump . Yet some mothers nurse at the breast as well..If a mother is to pump her milk than surely she will go to the room for that..There are places where a baby would be allowed. Yet the milk full breasts has to pumped.
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MilitaryRetiree says:
One of my former co-workers at a prison where we worked, brought her pump and bottles to work with her and when she felt "full", she would use the pump and fill the bottles for her baby. Certainly wouldn't want to hang 'em out in front of a couple of hundred desperate inmates.
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atodd81 says:
I have seen several comments by people who clearly know nothing about this subject. The article does not mention that mothers are feeding their babies at work. Mothers pump their breastmilk at work for later use by the infant. They can store their milk so that it can be fed to the baby at their day care or any time when the mother is unable to nurse the baby. Please educate yourself on a top before making ignorant comments.
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barbaram99 says:
Turn yer sighted eyes a way from it. I am a childless lady. The breasts are there to nurse a baby. Dont they sell a nursing bra..
Men should wear a shirt in public..
If a mother has to nurse then do it.
Do ye throw a cover over female dogs that nurse her puppies..No ye don't.
I think the nursing mothers will be mindful of where she is cover herself and baby.
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KimSideOut says:
You don't necessarily "bring your baby with you" to be able to give them breast milk. That's what pumps are for. I am fortunate to work for a company that has a "mothers room" with a fridge to store the milk and a sink. It also has Parents magazine and the "what to expect" books. I know that is not possible for all workplaces, but being given at least the TIME to do so is awesome. My youngest daughter had breastmilk until she was 10 months old and has never been sick, she will be 2 in a couple months. The health benefits for the baby are astronomical. If a company provides insurance for your family why wouldn't they encourage breastfeeding when it boosts a baby's immune system?
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shortydrb2005 says:
I also agree that some moms do not cover themselves or babies correctly. My question is for the moms who don't work where there children are. How can their babies also get the privileged to continued to be breastfeed. Also, I believe all public places including parks, restaurants, and doctor's offices, must have changing tables along with a place to breastfeed. If we are out at the mall and it's time for a feeding we either have to go sit in the car or in a stale in the bathroom or sit in the open.
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pragmatist1 says:
Businesses could avoid this by not allowing their staff to bring their infants to work with them. If it's a provided day care facility on the premises of the workplace, I think it reasonable to have rooms where these women could go and do their business. While breastfeeding is a normal and healthy process, so do are other bodily functions, which are banned from public displays. Many breastfeeding women don't know how to properly drape themselves and their baby and end up being exhibitionists. If I need the rest room to do my business, I go to one and don't visually force others to watch me doing a normal and healthy thing.
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