Guidelines to set up a Breastfeeding Room at the place of work
Aim: The aim is to promote breastfeeding and facilitate the early return to work of the lactating mother.
Objective: To encourage and facilitate breast feeding or the expression of breast milk.at the place of work.
A breast feeding room should be large enough to satisfy the potential demand at the workplace and its size would therefore be dependent on the number of female emplolyees in the establishment.
Essential requirements for breastfeedinmg room:
1. The minimum size of a room to cater for the needs of one person is 4m2 .
2. It must have adequate lighting, ventilation and temperature control and be made as attractive as possible to provide a comfortable room environment.
3. It must be maintained meticulously clean at all times.
4. The International Breastfeeding Logo is to be affixed to the door (Logo stickers can be obtained from the Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Directorate, tel: 23266000).
5. To ensure privacy, inside locks indicating on the outside that the room is occupied must be intalled.
6. A wash hand basin with hot and cold water supply, liquid soap and hygienic hand drying facilities are to be made available.
7. A table or shelf/flat surface to hold a breast pump and any expressed milk is to be available.
8. A chair and an armchair are to be available.
9. At least two electrical outlets (Maltese standard – 240 Volts) are to be available for use by the mother.
10. A small refrigerator for the storage of any expressed milk is th be available and kept in good working order at all times.
11. Waste disposal facilities are to be made available.
All the requirements necessary for breastfeeding or breast milk expression are to be catered for by the lactating mother.
Guidelines to set up a Breastfeeding Room in the Community
Aim: The aim is to promote breastfeeding and facilitate its exclusivity at least up to the age of six months.
Objective: To encourage and facilitate breast feeding outside the home.
A breast feeding room should be large enough to satisfy the potential demand in the community and its size would therefore be dependent on the size of the catchment population it is meant to serve.
Essential requirements for breastfeedinmg room:
1. The minimum size of a room to cater for the needs of one person is 4m2 .The size of the room is to be increased by 2 m2 for every additional person it is meant to serve.
2. It must have adequate lighting, ventilation and temperature control and be made as attractive as possible to provide a comfortable room environment.
3. It must be maintained meticulously clean at all times.
4. The International Breastfeeding Logo is to be affixed to the door (Logo stickers can be obtained from the Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Directorate, tel: 23266000).
5. Its availability is to be well promoted and its location clearly signposted.
6. A wash hand basin with hot and cold water supply, liquid soap and hygienic hand drying facilities are to be made available.
7. A small low table is to be made available.
8. An armchair is to be made available for every person the room is meant to cater for.
9. A table/shelf to facilitate nappy changing is to be made available.
10. Waste disposal facilities are to be made available.
All the requirements necessary for breastfeeding are to be catered for by the lactating mother.