I recently received an email from a company promoting breastfeeding-friendly working environments. As you well know, I'm a HUGE breastfeeding advocate, and so I happily agreed to pass along the information that they're working hard to distribute. In this day and age, mother-friendly workplaces should be a right, not an amenity, but it will take hard work and activism to ensure that this becomes the case.
Here's what they had to say:
As the nation celebrates National Women's Health Week, it’s a perfect time to remind mothers, families and employers about the important role breastfeeding can play in the health of mother and child. Mothers who breastfeed according to medical recommendations (six months exclusive breastfeeding and continued breastfeeding through at least the first year of life) protect their child from illnesses and reduce their own risk of conditions such as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and breast and ovarian cancer.
While 75 percent of new moms in the United States start breastfeeding their babies, few continue after they return to work. Many worksites lack a private location and adequate facilities for pumping and storing breastmilk, and mothers worry about the attitudes of their supervisors and co-workers if they ask for the small amount of break time they need to pump breastmilk during the workday.
That’s why the Texas Department of State Health Services encourages all Texas employers to consider developing a written worksite breastfeeding support policy and to pursue designation as a Texas Mother-Friendly Worksite. The agency also has launched www.TexasMotherFriendly.org as a resource for parents and employers.
I encourage you to visit the website, make a pledge to support working mothers and share this important information with anyone you feel may benefit!
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