A Call for Legislation to Protect Breastfeeding Mothers

 by Glenni Lorick, IBCLC

Regardless of where you fall politically or how you feel about the Affordable HealthCare Act of 2010 (Obamacare), the fact is that breastfeeding mothers have been granted some amazing benefits as a direct result of this legislation. Mothers in 2017 can expect certain rights and benefits that their counterparts just 10 years ago did not enjoy.

• Insurance coverage of a breast pump (the type of pump may vary based upon the particular insurance plan a mother has).
• Lactation support covered by insurance (this again depends upon the availability of in-network providers).
• Mandated break time to pump at work and a place to pump that is not a bathroom.

With plans in place to repeal Obamacare, mothers stand to lose these valuable benefits. This is a problem not only for the individual mothers affected, but ultimately for society as a whole. Research has demonstrated that when we enable mothers to breastfeed for a longer period of time, healthcare costs for the child are actually reduced. This savings is especially significant for low-income populations.  Furthermore, when mothers receive support for pumping in the workplace, it actually provides significant savings to their employers. In fact, this document has been prepared specifically to help employers realize those savings by providing a mother-friendly atmosphere in the workplace.

This is a valuable resource for employers.

The Future 

As we look toward the future, It seems that there is some semblance of a plan to move forward. However, there are certainly no guarantees that coverage for the things that are important to breastfeeding mothers will continue. If these coverages are dropped, it will affect millions of mothers who must return to work after giving birth. Their babies may not have the same ease of access to breastmilk enjoyed by babies in the last few years. These mothers may not have access to affordable professional lactation support.

One solution that would ensure the continuation of these benefits is specific legislation that does mandate continued coverage of breast pumps and professional lactation support. It should also mandate workplace access to a safe, clean, private place to pump as well as non-penalized break time, expanding that coverage to include salaried employees as well as hourly employees. Under current law many salaried managers do not enjoy the same protection that hourly workers in the same company are guaranteed. Teachers and other professionals may also struggle because they are not protected by the laws that ensure other workers can pump. 

from the Kansas Business Case

During the last two Congressional sessions, Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Representative Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY-12) sponsored the Supporting Working Moms Act. The goal of this piece of legislation was to ensure a fair and uniform national policy by extending the current law to cover salaried employees. I would propose that this Act be expanded to include all of the breastfeeding provisions that stand to be lost if Obamacare is repealed. Furthermore, I would hope to see it's passage linked in some way to any healthcare reform that is passed. If the goal is to ultimately save money, this is a clear way to ensure that fewer healthcare dollars are spent on sick babies.

Simple Wishes makes working and pumping easy.

In the current political climate, it would be good for this bill to be seen as a bi-partisan effort. Therefore, I would hope to see Republican co-sponsors step forth. This is not a Democrat or Republican matter. Rather, it affects the right of all babies to receive the nutrition designed specifically for them.  I urge you to contact your senators and representatives to ask them to co-sponsor the Supporting Working Moms Act and expand it to protect the provisions that could be lost if the Affordable Healthcare Act is Repealed.

My Letter

Dear Senator Shelby,

I work with mothers and babies every day as a lactation consultant in North Alabama. Although I was not a proponent of Obamacare, the last few years we have seen an increase in breastfeeding rates. In Alabama breastfeeding initiation rates climbed from 64% in 2010 to 67% in 2014. That 3% increase represents hundreds of thousands of dollars in healthcare savings. More importantly, however, the number of mothers breastfeeding the full year recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics climbed from 11.8% to 15.9%. I believe that increase can be directly attributed to the provisions of the Affordable HealthCare Act which provide breast pumps to mothers and offer guidelines to employers regarding employees who pump. 

I am thankful that this Congress is looking for ways to improve the healthcare dilemma in our nation. There is currently a piece of legislation called the Supporting Working Moms Act that has been introduced by Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) in the past two Congressional Sessions. Its purpose was to extend the protections of the AHCA to salaried employees. However, I would like to suggest that it be expanded to contain all the protections currently provided to breastfeeding mothers in the AHCA which include the following:

• Insurance coverage of a breast pump (the type of pump may vary based upon the particular insurance plan a mother has).
• Lactation support covered by insurance (this again depends upon the availability of in-network providers).
• Mandated break time to pump at work and a place to pump that is not a bathroom.

I would like to respectfully request that you recommend these changes and co-sponsor this bill that will help thousands of your constituents. Thank you for taking the time to consider this. I would be happy to answer any questions you might have about breastfeeding support in Alabama.

Sincerely yours,

Make It Your Own

I want to challenge each of you to adapt this letter (even if you just use the second paragraph and what follows) and send it to your senators and congressmen. One voice alone doesn't sound very loud, but when we all lift our voices together, they won't be able to ignore our ROAR! 

It's Time for ALL Working Moms to Have Legal Protection for Pumping

Salaried health care workers deserve the same rights as hourly workers!

by Glenni Lorick, IBCLC

If you work as an hourly employee in a store, restaurant or business with more than 50 employees, your employer is legally required to provide you a place to express or pump your breastmilk (a bathroom isn't acceptable) and whatever break time you need to do so. This fact sheet explains the details of the law as it is currently written. However, if you are a teacher, a physician or any other kind of salaried employee, the law doesn't provide you any protection at all.

Some employers like HEMSI  work
 hard to accomodate mamas. 

Last year I wrote a blog about this topic and mentioned the Supporting Working Mothers Act of 2013 which was sponsored by Senator Jeff Merkley from Oregon. Unfortunately our lawmakers didn't care enough about mothers and babies to act on this legislation, and they allowed it the bill to die.

Nevertheless, the United States Breastfeeding Committe (USBC) is mounting a campaign to once again find a sponsor for the Supporting Working Mothers Act so that it can be introduced in the upcoming session of congress. You may not be a very politically active person, but please take just a moment to get involved in this very important issue. It isn't a Democrat or a Republican issue. No, it is a MOTHER'S RIGHTS issue. It is a BABY'S RIGHTS issue. Every mother and baby should have the right to sustain their breastfeeding relationship after mother returns to work. Sadly many do not have that option because employers fail to understand the many incredible benefits for everyone involved including the employer!

This school counselor has
been able to pump as needed. 

Benefits for Mom and Baby

The numerous benefits for moms and babies have been well documented. Babies who receive their mothers' milk receive antibodies to anything that mom is exposed to. They also have reduced incidence of all the following:

Upper respiratory infections
Ear infections
Gastrointestinal infections
Juvenile diabetes
Childhood leukemia

Mothers who breastfeed receive tremendous health benefits as well.

Increased chance of healthy loss of extra pregnancy weight
Reduced risk of premenopausal breast cancer
Reduced risk of postpartum depression
Reduced risk of osteoporosis and ovarian cancer later in life

Benefits for Employers

Every working mother should
have this right!

Many employers do not realize that when they empower their workforce to breastfeed according to the AAP recommendation they will also benefit the bottom line of their company in a variety of ways:

• Increased retention of employees following maternity leave
• Reduced incidence of absenteeism due to working mothers having to care for sick babies
• Greater job satisfaction reported leading to long-term employee retention
• Reduced costs for employer-funded insurance plans because the medical costs during the first year of life are drastically reduced. 

The first step you can take is to click on this link which will take you to the USBC campaign. Scroll down to the bottom where you can enter your zip code to send an email to the representative for your congressional district.

Next repost this information to everyone you know