Employer Resources
Employers benefit when they support breastfeeding:
- Lower absenteeism: Mothers with formula fed children missed work because their children were ill three times more often compared to mothers who breastfed their children.
- Higher productivity
- Higher company loyalty
- Higher employee morale
- Lower health care costs
Sample Employer Policies for Supporting Breastfeeding Employees
- Policy for Supporting Breastfeeding Employees – Office on Women’s Health – Business Case for Breastfeeding
- Sample Worksite Breastfeeding Policy – Wisconsin Dept. of Health & Family Services/Wisconsin Breastfeeding Coalition
- Worksite Breastfeeding Policy– Oklahoma State Department of Health
Workplace Breastfeeding Issues in the News
Other Helpful Links for Employers
- Online Workplace Guide: What You Need to Know About the Break Time for Nursing Mothers Law
- Breastfeeding Works Brochure (pdf, 177 KB) – Guidelines to become an Oklahoma Breastfeeding Friendly Worksite from COBA, OK Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition, and the Preparing for a Lifetime Initiative to Reduce Infant Mortality
- Application for Recognition as an Oklahoma Breastfeeding Friendly Worksite
- Supporting Breastfeeding in the Workplace – policy brief from the Association of State Public Health Nutritionists (2015)
- Supporting Nursing Moms at Work – Online resource from Womenshealth.gov for various industries (updated 2019)
- Break Time for Nursing Mothers Under the FLSA (Fair Labor Standards Act) – Department of Labor Fact Sheet #73
- Department of Labor FAQ about break time for nursing mothers
- Business Case for Breastfeeding (Office on Women’s Health – Toolkit for Workplace Breastfeeding Support)
- Breastfeeding Benefits Coverage in the Affordable Care Act – Toolkit from National Women’s Law Center (pdf, 11 pages) – includes an explanation of the law, sample scripts & letters for contacting insurers about coverage of breastfeeding equipment (including PUMPS) and lactation care, and a Q & A section.
- Investing in Workplace Breastfeeding Programs and Policies: An Employer’s Toolkit from the National Business Group on Health includes a comprehensive list of tools for assessing, planning, promoting, implementing and evaluating a worksite lactation program.
- Harvard Business Review’s 2019 summary of why and how to accommodate breastfeeding employees
https://hbr.org/2019/04/how-companies-can-support-breastfeeding-employees
OSDH WIC Public Service Announcements about working and breastfeeding
“WIC Employer – Childcare Support” — English:
https://youtu.be/pUk5cxByJSU
