by Karima Isberg
Last week I received a phone call from a Human Resources Director I had contacted about Champaign Urbana Public Health District’s latest breastfeeding initiative – certifying local places as “breastfeeding friendly.” This woman asked me in a skeptical tone what the incentive would be for certifying. This is not the first time that I have received such a response, yet it did not fail to leave me dumbstruck.
Aside from what seems obvious to me, I can only assume that the people that ask me that question do not realize the depth of the formula feeding bias that exists in our society and might also possibly have made the choice to use formula themselves, and as such feel threatened by the prospect of “promoting” breastfeeding. In my opinion, there is nothing more irrational than defending ones own choices by limiting other peoples, especially given reality.
Only 11 to 13 percent of babies in Illinois are exclusively breastfed until they are 6 months old. Yet research shows that breastmilk is the best source of nutrition for babies. There are no ifs, ands or buts about it. The American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Association of Family Physicians recommend exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months of life. Furthermore, “promoting” breastfeeding addresses many of the public health issues that face our country today like obesity, breast cancer, cardiovascular disease, infant mortality and morbidity, asthma, diabetes and the effectiveness of immunizations.
There are immediate and local benefits to be reaped by employers as well. For example, consider the results of Cigna Corporation’s lactation program. Over one year, Cigna Corporation saw a $240,000 reduction in annual health care costs, as well as a 77 percent reduction in lost work time due to infant illness, another savings of $60,000.
Research shows that breastfeeding support at the work site increases employee loyalty, productivity and satisfaction while decreasing absenteeism, turnover and the cost of healthcare premiums. To reap these benefits, an employer need only provide time and a location for the employee to pump every two to three hours for 10 to 15 minutes, a place to store breastmilk (a cooler with three ice packs is sufficient), and a short educational program for all employees on how and why to be “breastfeeding friendly.”
Yet, in spite of the evidence pointing to the value of exclusive breastfeeding for babies and the public, and the positive benefits demonstrated by breastfeeding friendliness in the work place for employees and employers, only 25 percent of employers are “breastfeeding friendly” (according to the Health People 2006).
In order to address this deficit in Champaign-Urbana, the public health department is working on two initiatives. The first is to certify local places as “breastfeeding friendly” and the second is to provide a free training for those places that would like to learn more about how to become “breastfeeding friendly.” The criteria for certification is not stringent, on the contrary, a policy of not tolerating discrimination against breastfeeding women and training employees about existing breastfeeding laws are the two most important requirements.
Certification is at the double gold, gold, silver or bronze level depending on other breastfeeding friendly practices. A breastfeeding friendly certificate and a window sticker stating “Breastfeeding Welcome Here from the Loving Support Breastfeeding Taskforce of East Central Illinois” are given to each qualified place. The name of each place will also be added to a resource list kept at the Public Health Department and on Chambanamoms.com (click for list).
The breastfeeding training includes a short history of breastfeeding in the 20th century, a discussion of the value of breastfeeding for mom and baby, as well as its impact on public health and the economy. Federal and state breastfeeding laws are described along with the benefits to employers of providing breastfeeding support in their business, daycare or establishment.
The training also provides a tutorial on how to store and handle breast milk, as well as how to actually feed a baby breast milk in a bottle in a way that supports the maintenance of the breastfeeding relationship. Both certification and the training are free.
So, let’s get back to our Human Resources director. What are the benefits certifying as “breastfeeding friendly”? Let’s recap. Receiving certification from breastfeeding professionals assures the employer that the key components of breastfeeding friendliness have been met. Research shows that there are a number of financial incentives of breastfeeding for both the employee and employer.
Most importantly, mothers will no longer have “to choose between providing human milk for their baby and returning to work” (Department of Health and Human Services). And finally, at the national level, the employer will participate in reducing the formula feeding bias that exists in our country, thereby decreasing infant mortality and improving the general health of our population.
The real question is, why not certify?
Karima Isberg is a Peer Breastfeeding Counselor at the Champaign Urbana Public Health District. She can be reached at 217-531-4322. Check out the CUPHD’s breastfeeding initiative on Facebook.