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Returning to work can be a major barrier to breastfeeding; indeed, work is one of the most common reason mothers with babies over six weeks old stop breastfeeding.
However, the Department of Health guidelines (in line with the World Health Organisation) recommend that babies should be breastfed exclusively for the first six months of their lives, and breastfed alongside solid food after that – and that work should not be a barrier to this.
Breastfeeding has obvious health benefits for mother and child; according to the Department of Health and the Unicef Baby Friendly Initiative, breastfeeding protects babies against infections and diseases in later life, as well as protecting the health of the mother too. These benefits can in turn be beneficial to employers – healthier mothers with healthier babies will lead to fewer absences from work.
There are other benefits to employers, as Alison Baum of the Breastfeeding Manifesto points out:
"Employers have the potential to help support mothers wishing to continue breastfeeding when returning to work from maternity leave. They?ll be helping increase the health of the nation whilst reducing staff absences due to child illness, increasing their staff morale and potentially insuring better staff retention – it is a win, win situation."
So what are employers required by law to do to support breastfeeding, and what is just good practice?
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