Breastfeeding Friendly Employer

Breastfeeding moms face logistical obstacles to being successful. As an employer, you have the opportunity to be supportive and help your staff provide the ideal nutrition for their babies. Breastfeeding friendly employers have healthier work forces and overall better morale.

Benefits to the Bottom Line

Providing support for nursing women at work is good for your business. Family-friendly practices can produce a 3 to 1 return on investment due to:

• Lower health care costs due to healthier babies and moms
• Reduced rate of absenteeism due to infant illness (among both mothers and fathers)
• Lower turnover rates
• Improved employee productivity and loyalty
• A more family-friendly image in the community

Being a breastfeeding friendly employer is a strategic way to attract, retain and engage mothers with infants.

Becoming a Breastfeeding Friendly Employer

Creating a breastfeeding friendly environment for your staff is easy. The Colorado Breastfeeding Coalition will help you put all the necessary elements into place and can designate you as a breastfeeding friendly employer if these are in place:

• A written lactation policy
• Few or no barriers to scheduling pumping breaks during the workday
• A prioritized or designated private pumping space that is not a restroom or toilet stall

Visit the Colorado Breastfeeding Coalition to get started.

Employer Responsibilities

There are Federal and Colorado laws that protect breastfeeding mothers in the workplace. A breastfeeding mother’s needs are simple and few. All Colorado employers are required to:

• Provide reasonable time (unpaid or paid break and/or meal time) for mothers to express milk at work for up to 2 years after the birth of her child
• Make reasonable efforts to provide suitable, private space (other than a bathroom stall) in close proximity to her work area
• Not discriminate against a woman for expressing milk in the workplace