Mother-Friendly minimum criteria for education: There is no requirement to provide an education component in order to become designated as a Texas Mother-Friendly Worksite.

Mother-Friendly minimum criteria for support: To achieve and maintain designation as a Texas Mother-Friendly Worksite, a worksite must provide and maintain a written worksite lactation support policy that is regularly communicated to employees and:

(1)Provides work schedule and work pattern flexibility to, at a minimum, accommodate
a reasonable break time for an employee to express breastmilk for her nursing child or breastfeed each time such employee has need to express milk or breastfeed for one year
or longer after the child's birth.

(2)Provides employees a private, accessible area, other than a bathroom, that is shielded
from view and free from intrusion from co-workers and the public, for either expressing breastmilk or breastfeeding each time such employee has need to express breastmilk
or breastfeed.

(3)Provides access to a clean, safe water source and a sink.

(4)Provides access to a hygienic place to store expressed breastmilk.

To provide a comprehensive lactation support program, consider offering some or all of the following education resources to expectant and parenting employees:

  • A lending library of educational breastfeeding pamphlets, books, and/or videos.
  • Web links to educational resources from the company’s wellness or other intranet page.
  • Referrals to classes on pregnancy and breastfeeding.
  • Classeson pregnancy and breastfeeding at the worksite or subsidized classes offered in the community.
  • A return-to-work consultation by a Trained Breastfeeding Educator or an International Board-Certified Lactation Consultant.
  • Educational options extended to employees’ partners/immediate family members.

Actively promote the worksite’s support for employees and their families who wish to combine working and breastfeeding:

  • Place posters, signs, and/or displays in common areas and in the lactation space indicating employer support for breastfeeding.
  • Hold events (ceremonies, health fairs, new employee orientation, town hall meetings,
    and other employee/public gatherings) where the worksite lactation support program is announced and promoted.
  • Publish newsletters, email blasts, and Internet/intranet pages in which the worksite lactation support program is announced and promoted.
  • Appoint a single point of contact such as a wellness coordinator or human resources specialist to coordinate the worksite breastfeeding support program. Include this role in
    the employee’s job description.
  • Provide easy-to-find information about available employee benefits to support breastfeeding employees, such as use of flexible spending accounts for breast pumps, lactation services made available through the employee health plan, flexible leave options (paid family leave, disability insurance, leave pool options, etc.), flexible scheduling options, breastfeeding and/or parenting classes, employee assistance program offerings relevant to parents, etc.
  • An employer-purchased hospital-grade multi-user electric breast pump included as a feature in the employee lactation room (employees provide their own personal pump kits).
  • Provide a dedicated refrigerator and/or personal coolers for storage of breastmilk.
  • Provide incentives and/or recognition for breastfeeding employees, such as parental leave packets that include breastfeeding literature and information about your worksite lactation program, baby showers that promote exclusive breastfeeding, a “come-back pack” of educational materials and items that encourage exclusive breastfeeding, wellness incentive points, or other recognition for reaching breastfeeding milestones, etc.
  • Seek employee and manager feedback and evaluate your program to ensure that the program is reaching its intended users and continues to meet their needs.

Provide resources to help employees who wish to combine working and breastfeeding with access to support from other mothers, informal support, and/or professional support as needed, including:

  • Contact information for local International Board-Certified Lactation Consultants, lactation support group meetings, hotlines, parenting groups, and/or other community breastfeeding resources.
  • A forum, blog, or other electronic networking opportunity for mother-to-mother
    employee support.
  • A bulletin board and/or notebook in the employee lactation space for breastfeeding employees to share pictures and notes of support with each other.
  • Coordination of the worksite breastfeeding support program by a skilled lactation expert hired by the worksite.
  • Facilities at the worksite for regular support group meetings.
  • Access to an International BoardCertified Lactation Consultant and/or breastfeeding peer counselor/educator as an employee benefit.
  • Provide a return-to-work consultation by a Trained Breastfeeding Educator or an International BoardCertified Lactation Consultant.

Provide management staff with:

  • A clear directive from executive leadership to communicate and implement the worksite lactation support policy.
  • Clear communication about expectations and processes by which the policy will be implemented across the worksite.
  • Information about why worksite lactation programs are good for your business and aligned with management priorities, such as retention, reduced absenteeism, and increased focus, loyalty, commitment, and morale.
  • Education about how to create a supportive environment for breastfeeding employees.
  • Education about how to locate adequate and appropriate temporary or permanent lactation space.
  • Tools to help the manager communicate and plan for scheduling needs of each lactating employee.
  • Support and assistance for managing workflow concerns.
  • Information, resources, and a point of contact to address employee questions or concerns that may arise.
  • Seek employee and manager feedback and evaluate your program to ensure that the program is reaching its intended users and continues to meet their needs.

Formal breastfeeding education for mothers and families results in increased breastfeeding success. Education that is combined with in-person or telephone support results in an even greater improvement in breastfeeding rates. The greatest increase in breastfeeding initiation, duration, and exclusivity is achieved when mothers receive both prenatal (occurring during pregnancy) and postpartum (occurring after the baby is born) education and support components.1, 2

Why is breastfeeding education so important?

Breastfeeding education provides families with the knowledge they need to:

Make informed infant-feeding decisions. Though most mothers understand that breastfeeding is the best choice for their infants, many do not have an understanding of the specific health risks that are reduced when breastfeeding occurs according to medical recommendations.3 Mothers who learn about the specific health benefits of breastfeeding are more likely to breastfeed.3, 4 Likewise, mothers are more likely to initiate breastfeeding when their babies’ fathers receive education about breastfeeding.5, 6

Set realistic expectations. There are many common beliefs and attitudes about the process of breastfeeding that can reduce breastfeeding success. For example, a common assumption among pregnant women is that breastfeeding is difficult or painful. Fear of pain is a common reason that women may choose not to try breastfeeding. Likewise, this misconception that pain or discomfort is a normal part of breastfeeding may prevent a woman who is having a difficult time with breastfeeding from seeking help. Education about breastfeeding during pregnancy can set realistic expectations for families about the normal course of breastfeeding, provide information about common complications, and give guidance about when and how to seek help if complications occur.

Learn the process and techniques to reduce complications and make breastfeeding easier. Though breastfeeding is a natural process, it is also a learned skill. Breastfeeding education includes demonstration of techniques and skills (e.g., holding, positioning, and latching the infant at the breast; learning about an infant’s hunger cues; and learning how to know that baby has had enough to eat),which can help families feel more prepared when their babies
are born. Involving fathers in breastfeeding educating by providing information and skills to support their partners can improve breastfeeding outcomes.7, 8

In addition to learning skills for breastfeeding a newborn infant, a woman who plans to return to work after childbirth benefits from learning about how to combine working and breastfeeding. She will need information about how to express and store milk, how to maintain her milk supply once she returns to work, and how to prepare her child’s caregiver to best support continued breastfeeding. Education that is provided both during her pregnancy and around the time she is preparing to return to work will give her the information that she needs at a time when it is most meaningful to her.

In focus groups held across Texas to learn more about the need for Mother-Friendly Worksites, many working mothers who intended to combine working and breastfeeding talked about their real-life experiences after returning to work. Some mothers reported that their workplace had a supportive environment that helped them to comfortably balance their physical need to express breastmilk during the workday with meeting the responsibilities of their work. These mothers described how this support allowed them to have peace of mind and a feeling of balance because they were able to continue to provide for their child and maintain a connection through breastfeeding even during periods of separation. Because these needs were met during the brief breaks they took to express breastmilk, they described that they were able to provide full focus to their work throughout the workday. They also stated that this support reaffirmed their loyalty and commitment to their employer.

Some mothers reported very different experiences with managers and coworkers when they asked for accommodation of breastfeeding, ranging from negative attitudes or uncomfortable tension, to distasteful jokes and comments, to actions that directly impacted their employment or earnings.

Most mothers reported that they did not feel comfortable talking to their employer or coworkers about their need for lactation accommodation. Some reported feeling concerned about how their managers would react if they asked “for more time” for milk-expression breaks after the leave time they had taken after childbirth. They reported feeling concern that their need for breaks would be incorrectly perceived by their bosses or coworkers as a sign that they were doing less work or contributing less value to the organization than their non-breastfeeding team members. They also reported concern that asking for lactation accommodation would negatively impact their ability to move ahead in their careers or even put their jobs at risk.

Instead of asking for support, many of these women weaned—or stopped breastfeeding—before they went back to work. Others tried for a while—until their bodies stopped producing milk—to make do with only pumping milk before or after work or taking short sporadic milk-expression breaks in the bathroom or their cars. Still others left their jobs for more breastfeeding-friendly work environments. These mothers reported feeling stressed, torn in multiple directions, physically uncomfortable, and disappointed about their inability to provide their child with the health benefits of breastmilk and the closeness of the breastfeeding relationship for as long as they had wanted.

Worksite surveys reveal that many managers are also concerned about the attitudes and perceptions of their staff related to lactation breaks. The belief that coworkers may feel that lactation breaks are unfair is often seen by managers as a barrier to providing a supportive environment for lactating employees. While there may indeed be some vocal employees withnegative attitudes toward worksite lactation support programs, breastfeeding, or parenting employees in general, studies demonstrate that the majority of the general public10 and
coworkers11 have positive views of and attitudes toward worksite lactation support services.
If coworkers have had previous exposure to employees who have combined working and breastfeeding, they are even more likely to have positive attitudes toward worksite lactation support. This remains true regardless of the coworker’s gender, length of employment, or personal breastfeeding experience.11

Establishing your worksite’s written employee breastfeeding policy is an important cornerstone in the foundation of a supportive workplace environment in which breastfeeding employees can feel confident in their ability to combine working and breastfeeding. The policy should be implemented and communicated in a way that fosters a positive, accepting attitude from upper management, supervisors, and coworkers. A well-communicated worksite lactation support policy can go a long way toward assuring that an employee’s most basic needs—the privacy and time to maintain milk production after returning to work—are met.

Comprehensive worksite lactation support programs often offer additional supports such as access to guidance and support from other mothers with breastfeeding experience (e.g., peer counselors), services from trained lactation professionals (e.g., International Board Certified Lactation Consultants, or IBCLCs), and employee benefits that support breastfeeding success. Access to WIC peer counselors12-15 and to IBCLCs16-17 are associated with improved breastfeeding duration and exclusivity. Businesses with comprehensive programs have been shown to experience significant cost savings associated with improved breastfeeding outcomes.

“Women can obtain helpful information about how to breastfeed from classes, books, online resources, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), as well as from other mothers who have breastfeeding experience.”9

–Office of the U.S. Surgeon General

Basic Overview

Chapter 5, Getting Started, of the National Business Group on Health’s publication, Investing in Workplace Breastfeeding Support: An Employer’s Toolkit includes a brief overview of the education and support components of a worksite lactation support program. The chapter includes basic ideas for activities that can address these components.

Support Resources

Resources to help you support your employees

Information for incorporating worksite lactation into a benefits program:

Investing in Maternal and Child Health: An Employer's Toolkit
National Business Group on Health
Presents strategies and tools to improve the health of children, adolescents, and women before, during, and after pregnancy. Provides a case study of a healthy pregnancy program, including incorporating a lactation support component, offered to employees at the Fortune 500 company AOL. Includes the Maternal and Child Health Plan Benefit Model, which includes coverage of lactation services and breast pumps.

Information for Supporting Traveling Employees:

Guidance from the US Department of Labor for the employer regarding the recommendation under the Fair Labor Standards Act to provide a space when their nursing employee is located off-site:“In situations where the employee is off-site, the Department recommends that the employer arrange with the client to allow the employee to use a space at the client’s site for the purpose of expressing milk.”

Breastfeeding Support at Conferences and Meetings, from Building Breastfeeding-Friendly Communities in Wisconsin, Wisconsin Department of Health Services:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): Traveling Information for the Nursing Mother:

Transportation Security Administration: Important Information on Traveling with Formula, Breast Milk, and Juice:

Information Related to Safe Handling and Storage of Breastmilk:

Proper Handling and Storage of Human Milk, CDC

Statement that breastmilk does not constitute occupational exposure as defined by regulation 29 CFR 1910.1030, “Occupational Exposure to Bloodborne Pathogens,” US Department of Labor Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA)

Resources to Identify Peer Mother-to-Mother Support

Since each community has a different set of available resources, you will have to do some investigating. Good places to start include:

La Leche League of Texas. Provides information about local La Leche League chapters for mother-to-mother support:

Baby Cafes. Informal café-like drop-in centers where breastfeeding moms and/or their partners can come with their babies to get support from other mothers and/or from specially trained breastfeeding staff:

The Texas Department of State Health Services Women, Infants and Children Program is an income-based nutrition program that helps pregnant women, new mothers, and young children eat well, learn about nutrition, and stay healthy. WIC provides nutrition education and counseling, nutritious foods, and help accessing health care for low-income women, infants, and children. WIC clients are eligible to receive breastfeeding education and support, including mother-to-mother support, through the WIC Peer Counselor Program.

For information on WIC eligibility, locations, and services:

For information about the WIC Peer Counselor Program:

DSHS Peer Counselor Training Workshop. This course prepares attendees to develop a peer counselor program and train peer counselors to provide skilled mother-to-mother support. Consider sending an employee to this course to develop a peer-counselor initiative within your worksite:

Resources to Identify Professional Support:

Information and Referral Helplines:

Texas Statewide Lactation Support Hotlines:

  • 800-514-6667
  • 877-550-5008
  • 855-550-6667

Online Texas Lactation Directory

Office on Women’s Health National Breastfeeding Helpline:

  • 800-994-9662

Clinical Lactation Support:

WIC Lactation Training and Resource Centers: Any family in Texas that is eligible for the WIC program may receive professional lactation support, free of charge, at lactation clinics in Austin, Dallas, and Houston.

Mom’s Place
8701-B Research Boulevard (Hwy 183)
Austin, TX 78758
512-719-3010
Toll free: 800-514-6667 (Leave a message after hours. Calls will be returned within 24 hours.)
Email: