We love connecting families in Durham to local businesses that are breastfeeding-friendly. We encourage businesses to fill out the Breastfeeding Welcome Here Award.
Celebrating
Let’s celebrate Durham breastfeeding-friendly businesses and organizations! Thank you for supporting breastfeeding families in our community. The businesses listed below have been formally recognized for their support of breastfeeding families. Welcoming breastfeeding families is part of making breastfeeding the norm in our community. Thank you for your support!Thank you! On behalf of the North Carolina Breastfeeding Coalition, Breastfeed Durham, and the families we represent, we extend our heartfelt appreciation to your business for all that you do to support breastfeeding.
Applying
Employers in Durham have taken great measures to support and protect families. We want to celebrate you! With so many families working from home right now, more organizations qualify than ever before. Apply today to receive a Breastfeeding Friendly Award. Breastfeeding-Friendly Community Partners are businesses or organizations that welcome breastfeeding families. Breastfeeding-Friendly Employers are workplaces that have made accommodations to support breastfeeding employees.
Providing support for breastfeeding families at work is good for your business. Hundreds of companies across America provide lactation support programs as part of their family-friendly benefit platform. They’ve learned that lactation accommodations produce a 3-to-1 return on investment which is attributed to:
- Lower health care costs due to healthier babies and parents
- Reduced rate of absenteeism due to infant illness (among both mothers and fathers)
- Lower turnover rates
- Improved employee productivity and loyalty.
If you would like to learn more about how to become breastfeeding friendly, please let us know. We work closely with Durham County Department of Public Health and we would be happy to help you work on ways to improve your environment, practices, and policies to better support breastfeeding families. Please reach out with any questions or anything we can do to help. Thank you for your time.
Supporting Employees During Covid
Breastfeeding is one of the few immune boosters that we currently can offer to our infants during this global pandemic. We know breastfeeding rates increase dramatically with support, so it’s vitally important that employers support their employees in breastfeeding during this time (and always!)
How can employers do this? The steps are the same as always, with an extra emphasis on cleanliness at this time.
Create a Clean & Safe Environment
- Allow breastfeeding parents to take breaks to express milk or nurse their children
- Provide access to a private space for expressing milk or nursing that:
- Is lockable
- Is shielded from view
- Has a hand hygiene station nearby
- Is NOT a bathroom
Write a Policy
Download a sample policy
- If possible, offer a flexible return-to-work policy (part-time, telecommuting, flex time, etc.)
- Here is more information about how to create a lactation policy
- Assistance available at <contact@breastfeedingcommunities.org>
Support Each Other
- Lactating employees and customers are always welcome and respected
- Parents will never be treated poorly, asked to stop feeding or asked to cover up or move
- Offer print materials for local breastfeeding resources for customers
- Display breastfeeding promotion materials
Tools for Employers
- Apply Now
- “Pumping at Work: Supporting Lactating Employees During Coronavirus (COVID-19).” The publication includes basic requirements under federal law and frequently asked questions about lactating employees during COVID-19.
- The Making It Work Tool Kit is a resource to help breastfeeding employees return to work. It is designed to provide assistance to breastfeeding employees, their employers and their families.
- Accommodating nursing employees in the workplace can work for your business. Learn how!For EmployersLow-Res version for viewing on-screen
- Checklist for Employers
- Supporting Worksite Lactation Accommodations More than 80% of women choose to breastfeed and supporting these women at work is the law. Employers (no matter the type or size of your business) and employees can comply. Low-Res version for viewing on-screen
Workplace Regulations
The Affordable Care Act mandates that employers are required to provide reasonable break time for employees to express breast milk for their nursing children. The employer must also provide a place, other than a bathroom, for the employee to express breast milk. These requirements shall not preempt a state law that provides greater protections to employees. See the NC Breastfeeding Coalition FAQ page for specific questions and answers that may help clarify. The United States Breastfeeding Committee (USBC) also maintains a helpful information page on workplace support for breastfeeding in federal law.
We all benefit
We all benefit when our community is healthier. Breast milk contains antibodies that protect infants from bacteria and viruses. Breastfed children have fewer ear, respiratory and urinary tract infections and have diarrhea less often. Infants who are exclusively breastfed tend to need fewer health care visits, prescriptions and hospitalizations resulting in a lower total medical care cost compared to never-breastfed infants. As a part of the Healthy People 2020 initiative, two national goals are to increase the proportion of infants who are breastfed at six months and infants who are breastfed exclusively through six months by the year 2020. If your business is already a friendly environment for customers and/or employees who are breastfeeding, we encourage you apply for the award! The North Carolina Breastfeeding Association will list your business on its website, as will Breastfeed Durham, a local advocacy group. You will be able to advertise on your premises and online that you’re breastfeeding friendly. Please contact us with any feedback or questions.