Transcript 32 Breastfeeding Moms on What Works at Work

32 Breastfeeding Moms on
What Works at Work
Emily Waldron
Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health
University of Arizona
Background
• Affordable Care Act amended section 7 of the Fair Labor Standards Act to
require employers to provide “reasonable break time for an employee to
express breast milk for her nursing child for 1 year after the child’s birth each
time such employee has need to express the milk.”
• Employers are also required to provide “a place, other than a bathroom, that
is shielded from view and free from intrusion from coworkers and the public,
which may be used by an employee to express breast milk.”
Arizona Specific Breastfeeding Policy
• Healthy Arizona Policy Initiative (HAPI)
• Promote breastfeeding as a component of worksite wellness
• Strategy 7 of CDC Grant 1305
• Provides resources for ADHS to ensure workplaces are complying with the federal
lactation accommodation law (Section 4207 of the Affordable Care Act)
Internship Goal
Develop a workplace lactation guide designed for county health departments to
distribute to local employers to assist with breastfeeding promotion at the
workplace.
Objective One
• Perform a literature review to inform policy development recommendations
and interview protocol
• “The Business Case for Breastfeeding” by the United States Department of Health and
Human Services
• Texas Mother Friendly Worksite Initiative
• Texas Department State Health Services
• CDC Grant Communities Putting Prevention to Work-State and Territory Initiative-Special
High Impact Initiative
• Businesses can apply to be designated as mother-friendly
Objective Two
• Develop interview questions, recruit interview participants, and conduct and
analyze interviews with 30 women who are currently lactating or have
lactated in the past two years
• Interview questions developed from HRSA’s The Business Case for Breastfeeding
• Recruitment Strategy
• Designed a recruitment flyer and distributed the flyer to 10 daycares and preschools in
Tucson, Arizona and to lactation consultants at University of Arizona’s Medical Center
• Social Media: “Badass Breastfeeding Tucson Moms” Facebook group
Objective Two Continued
• Interview Methods
• Conducted 30 interviews by phone, 2 in-person
• 29 interviews conducted with participants living in Tucson; 3 participants lived in
Phoenix
• Answers recorded during the interview and coded immediately following the interview
Objective Three
• Create a handout on the benefits of breastfeeding for ADHS to distribute to
Arizona businesses
• Return on Investment
• Employee Perspective
• Qualitative Data
• How to Invest in Breastfeeding at Work (based on interview results)
Interviewee
Workplace
Industry
Number of Interviews
Education (University)
7
Non Profit
6
Healthcare
4
Government
4
Retail
2
Education (K-12)
2
Grocery
1
Transportation (Bus Driver)
1
Defense
1
Law
1
Accounting
1
Technology
1
Engineer
1
Results
Overview
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32 interviews conducted between June-August 2014
Average Age: 32.7
Average months spent pumping at work: 10.06
47% of workplaces had a designated lactation space; 53% did not
78% of interviewees used a public-shared refrigerator to store breast milk at work
(scale of 1-4) 2.8 rating
• Support from colleagues (scale of 1-4): 3.34
• Support from supervisor (scale of 1-4): 3.32
Key Findings
• Three Key Findings
• Employee Lactation Breaks
• Employee Lactation Rooms
• Workplace Lactation Education
Employee Lactation Breaks
• Positive
• “No questions asked”
• “Took as long as I needed”
• “Trust”
• Negative
• “ The only option to pump was in a male supervisor’s office. I had to kick my supervisor out of his
office every time I pumped”
• “Meeting with clients”
• “My lunch break was only 20 minutes long which was not enough time”
Employee Lactation Rooms
• Positive
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“Comfortable chairs”
“Sink in the lactation rooms”
“Refrigerator for breast milk located in lactation room”
“Quiet”
• Negative
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“Wanted to put us in a bathroom. I had to explain the law to my employer”
“The curtains on the lactation room were sheer. Co-workers could see”
“Pumped in the car at off-site meetings”
“I pumped in the greenroom at school where plants were being grown. Finally demanded a different pumping location when
mushrooms began to grow”
Workplace Lactation Education
• Positive
• “Online workplace community for new mothers”
• “Respectfulness from co-workers. Nobody has ever said anything”
• “Provided with a ‘back to work’ packet after returning from maternity leave with lactation room
locations listed and a ‘know your rights’ insert”
• Negative
• “Supervisor said he would not have hired me if he knew I was pregnant.”
• “Colleagues suggested going to the car to pump”
• “My boss asked me if I had a battery pack for my pump so I could use the bathroom to pump”
Next Steps
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Definition of “reasonable time” of the Fair Labor Standards Act
A venue for employees to anonymously file workplace lactation complaints
Enforcement of Affordable Care Act policies at the workplace
Positive recognition for workplaces going above and beyond the basic
lactation requirements
• Standardized lactation education for co-workers and employers
Thank You