Employers should make it easier for mothers to continue breastfeeding their babies once they have gone back to work, a UK law firm specialising in maternity discrimination has said.
Slater and Gordon suggested provisions such as setting aside a private room for women to express milk, allowing the child to come to the office at lunchtime, providing a fridge for storing the milk and allowing women to be more flexible with their work hours could all be made where possible.
It said that while there are laws in place to protect mothers who want to breastfeed in public, there is currently no statutory obligation for employers to accommodate women who wish to continue breastfeeding their child when they return to work.
It carried out a poll that found that more than half of women reduced the amount they breastfed their child when they re-entered the workplace, with just under a quarter only breastfeeding when they were not at work.
Of the mothers who breastfed less when returning to work, four in 10 said there was not anywhere for them to feed their child or express milk, 37 per cent said they would have felt too uncomfortable expressing milk or breastfeeding in the workplace, while a quarter said it was not practical for them.
Paula Chan, employment lawyer at Slater and Gordon, said: “Women who choose to breastfeed their children are totally within their rights to do so in a public place. The law is less clear, however, in relation to women who wish to return to work whilst breastfeeding.
“Employers can’t prevent breastfeeding mothers returning to work but there is no legal requirement to provide facilities to enable mothers to express milk.
“We support greater protection for women who wish to continue breastfeeding on return to work. It’s not hard for employers to make provisions for women who are breastfeeding. They can set aside a private room, allow the child to come to the office at lunchtime, where possible, provide a fridge for storing the milk and allow women to be more flexible with their work hours.
“For most women just starting the conversation before they return to work is a step forward and a way of helping women feel like there is a choice in whether they continue to breastfeed or not.”
The Equality Act 2010 states that service providers must not discriminate against women for breastfeeding. For example, it is illegal for a cafe owner to refuse to serve a woman because she is breastfeeding.
One in five of the 800 women polled said they had been told to stop breastfeeding in public, while 14 per cent said they do not breastfeed outside their home.