142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition

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Title: Supporting School Employees who Breastfeed: A project of the Louisiana Workplace Breastfeeding Support Program

142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition (November 15 - November 19, 2014): http://www.apha.org/events-and-meetings/annual
Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Caitrin Alb, MPH , Mary Amelia Women's Center, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA
Lauren Futrell Dunaway, MPH, RD, LDN , Global Community Health and Behavioral Sciences, Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, New Orleans, LA
Ana Bales , Mary Amelia Women's Center, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA
Marci Brewer Asling, MPH , Bureau of Family Health, Louisiana Office of Public Health, New Orleans, LA
Katherine P. Theall, PhD , Global Community Health and Behavioral Sciences, Tulane University School of Public Health, New Orleans, LA
  
Background: Louisiana has one of the lowest percentages of women breastfeeding at 6 months. Support from a mother’s employer, along with time and space to pump at work, is essential in addressing the issue of breastfeeding duration. Louisiana is the first state to pass legislation that addresses provisions for lactating mothers who work in the school setting. The Louisiana Workplace Breastfeeding Support Program is working to build capacity for schools to better support employees who breastfeed.

Methods: A phone survey was conducted with 44 schools in Orleans and Jefferson Parish in Louisiana to collect information on awareness and existing policies. Programmatically, schools have been offered grants to set up lactation rooms,  given sample workplace lactation policies, and will be  certified as breastfeeding-friendly workplaces if they comply with the law.

Results: Only 21% of schools were aware of the law. About 40% of schools reported having space to pump or a place to store milk, but less than 20% stated there were adequate breaks. Several schools have already applied for grants to help establish lactation rooms and 1 school has been designated as a Breastfeeding-Friendly Workplace.

Conclusion: This law provides a unique opportunity to address breastfeeding duration in a workplace setting that might otherwise be challenging for lactating mothers. Results from the survey are being used to identify barriers that the program can address. Continued workplace lactation support, especially in workplaces that have non-traditional work environments like schools, has the potential to address disparities in breastfeeding duration rates in our state.

Learning Areas:

Public health or related public policy
Public health or related research

Learning Objectives:
Discuss the role of lactation programs in non-traditional workplaces as a solution to address breastfeeding duration rates. Identify barriers and facilitators to workplace lactation support and policies in the school setting. Describe the process of utilizing a state law to guide programmatic direction and services.

Keyword(s): Breastfeeding, Workplace

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have been a research program manager on multiple projects related to maternal and child health. I have conducted research and evaluation on maternal and child health studies and projects, specifically related to breastfeeding. Among my scientific interests are interventions and policies to address breastfeeding duration.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 4344.0: Breastfeeding Roundtable: EmergingTopics in Breastfeeding Research and Practice