Nebraska Breastfeeding Coalition

Topics and Tools

The Business Case For Breastfeeding: Steps For Creating A Breastfeeding Friendly Worksite

The Business Case for Breastfeeding is a comprehensive program designed to educate employers about the value of supporting breastfeeding employees in the workplace. The program highlights how such support contributes to the success of the entire business. The Business Case for Breastfeeding offers tools to help employers provide worksite lactation support and privacy for breastfeeding mothers to express milk. The program also offers guidance to employees on breastfeeding and working. Resources to help lactation specialists and health professionals to educate employers in their communities are also available.

• Easy Steps To Supporting Breastfeeding Employees (PDF):
  • This booklet provides you, the human resource manager and other members of the wellness team with an integrated approach to implementing a cost-effective lactation support program. This turnkey method is ready to operate with straightforward planning options and proven strategies.
• Toolkit: Resources For Building a Lactation Support Program
  This lactation support kit provides template tools that can be personalized to fit the unique needs of your company.
• Outreach Marketing Guide is designed for lactation and health professionals to assist in conducting effective outreach with employers in your community:
  
  • PowerPoint
• Breastfeeding-Friendly Workplace Policies – Jan 2008
  Sample policy and recommendations to strengthen and implement a breastfeeding policy to support mothers.
• CDC Healthy Worksite Initiative: Lacation Support Toolkit:
  This toolkit provides an example of how to create a comprehensive lactation, or breastfeeding, support program for nursing mothers at the work site.
• CDC Guide To Breastfeeding Interventions

Additional Resources

• United States Breastfeeding Committee: Issue Paper and Checklist.
• Breastfeeding Works! A project of the Breastfeeding Task Force of Greater Los Angeles with the goal to promote support for lactation in the workplace.

Facts

• Breastfeeding friendly workplaces have been shown to decrease employee absenteeism by up to 57% due to the health benefits for both mother and baby, while enhancing employee productivity, loyalty, and morale. Read more... (PDF)
• Companies save $3 for every dollar they spend supporting breastfeeding in the workplace. 1, 2
• The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that a minimum of $3.6 billion in medical expenses annually would be saved if the number of children breastfed for six months were to increase by 50 percent.
• Breastfed babies are far healthier.
  As a result, mothers working in a company that supports breastfeeding will take fewer days off to care for a sick child.
• A family-friendly environment is an excellent recruitment tool. A company will spend fewer healthcare dollars for both the mother and infant and employers report less staff turnover because staff is more satisfied with their jobs.