Returning to Work: Breastfeeding & The Law - Peel Public Health

Returning to Work: Breastfeeding & The Law

Does your workplace have:

women of childbearing age?
pregnant employees?
women on maternity leave?
working mothers who are breastfeeding?

If you answered “yes” to any of the above, you need to know what the Ontario Human Rights Commission has to say about breastfeeding at work and why breastfeeding is a workplace issue.

Returning to Work: A Focus on Breastfeeding

Women make up 47% of the labour force in Canada and over half are of childbearing age (15 to 45 years) (Statistics Canada, 2006). In the Region of Peel, most working mothers with young children return to work64% of mothers who returned to work continued to breastfeed (Breastfeeding Practices in the Region of Peel 2004/2005 report) at a time when they are still breastfeeding.

Why should you be concerned about breastfeeding in your workplace?

It’s the law
It benefits the employee and her child
There are direct benefits to your workplace

Benefits to the Employer	Benefits to the Mother & Child
Decreased absenteeism as breastfed children are sick less often (PDF, page 1 of 2)	Protects babies against illnesses such as colds, coughs, and ear infections
Decreased prescription costs for the employee’s child	Reduces the risk of allergies, and may lower the risk of childhood diabetes, asthma and bowel disease
Improved retention rates after maternity leave (PDF, page 2 of 4)	Mothers who continue to breastfeed have less risk of osteoporosis, breast and ovarian cancer (PDF, page 1 of 2)
Faster return to work (PDF, page 2 of 4)	Helps develop the mother-infant bond and ensures optimal child development.
Greater employee morale and productivity (PDF, page 2 of 4)

Workplace breastfeeding and the law

In addition to the potential benefits, workplaces must support breastfeeding to stay in compliance with the law. The Ontario Human Rights Commission states, “Women cannot be discriminated against in any way because they have chosen to breastfeed.” The employee and the employer need to collaborate on the arrangements to permit the mother to breastfeed upon her return to work (PDF, page 6 of 27).

The Commission goes on to say that “Employees who require breaks, such as for pumping or breastfeeding, should normally be accorded those breaks, and not be asked to forgo normal meal breaks as a result, or work additional time to make up for the breaks, unless the employer can show undue hardship” (PDF, page 9 of 27).

How the workplace can support breastfeeding

A workplace that supports breastfeeding can be created with minimal disruption. Become a breastfeeding friendly workplace by making small changes such as:

Providing a private, clean space where women can breastfeed or express breast milk
- Ensure the designated area has adequate lighting, a chair and an electrical outlet
- It should be in proximity to hand washing and refrigeration facilities
Developing a breastfeeding friendly workplace policy and making staff aware of it
Raising awareness within your workplace and ensuring supervisors are supportive of new mothers as they return to work

What can breastfeeding mothers do to prepare for return to work?

Women have the right to continue breastfeeding their infant upon returning to work. Before returning to work:

Come up with a plan. Are you going to breastfeed at work or pump? If you are going to express, consider when and where this will be done. You will also have to think about where you will store your breast milk at work
Talk to your employer about your breastfeeding plan
Breastfeed before you leave for work and when you return home
Pump twice during an 8 hour shift to maintain your breast milk supply

Facts & Stats

Results of the Breastfeeding Practices in the Region of Peel 2004/2005 report found:
- 94% of mothers initiate breastfeeding in Peel
- 55% of mothers plan to continue breastfeeding upon returning to work
- 64% of mothers who returned to work continued to breastfeed
- Average age of the baby when mother returns to work is 9.3 months
The World Health Organization and the Canadian Paediatric Society recommends that babies eat nothing but breast milk for the first six months of life at which point complementary foods should be introduced.
Mothers of formula fed babies have twice as many one day absences compared with breastfeeding mothers (Cohen et. al, 1995) ¹
An insurance company estimated that it saved $1,435.00 in medical claims and three days of employee sick leave per breastfed baby in the first year of its workplace breastfeeding support program (Ball & Bennett, 2001) ²

¹ Cohen, R., Mrtek, M.B., & Mrtek, R.G. (1995) Comparison of maternal absenteeism and infant illness rates among breastfeeding and formula-feeding women in two corporations. American Journal of Health Promotion, 10, 148-153.
² Ball T., Bennett D. (2001). The Economic Impact of Breastfeeding. Pediatric Clinics of North America 48(1)

Additional Resources