Mothers, as we know, are valuable assets to any organization. They are entrusted with several responsibilities. Still, they are endowed with supernatural abilities to strike a balance between job and family life. Working women are excellent moms for a variety of reasons. Being content with surrounding and circumstances is a crucial component of being a good mother. When a working mother’s mind is engaged and can fulfil her desire to work, her pleasure spreads throughout the family.
However, working women who are also nursing are a major source of concern. At certain workplaces, mothers find it challenging to strike a balance between nursing and work. Workplaces that make it difficult or impossible for women to pump, then cars, supply closets, and toilets are all the places where women are consigned. Even if a company has breastfeeding facilities, those rooms may be far distant or occupied when needed. Women struggle to find time to pump between back-to-back meetings, owing to a variety of factors, including space constraints.
As a result, women who return to work early in their babies’ lives are juggling the demands of three jobs: mom, milk supply, and worker bee. It was found that-
- Breastfeeding was less likely to persist among women who returned to work very early in their maternity.
- Stress levels and professional positions have an impact on a woman’s capacity to sustain breastfeeding (whether rigid or not at a supervisor level).
- Women who took lesser weeks of maternity leave had a threefold increase in their chances of having a child.
Pumping is not something that women “desire,” but they do it for the benefit of their children. In the workplace, battling for space and/or time to do so might provide an unanticipated set of obstacles. Thankfully, legislation has been established to guarantee that moms have appropriate places and times to pump if they so want.
Breastfeeding mothers who work and find success at doing both, simultaneously, amaze. They expect themselves to do miracles. And, while they should anticipate miracles, the pressures of working, caring for a baby, and supporting their bodies with proper nourishment, hydration, and relaxation to produce milk can be overwhelming at times.
Breast milk and nursing provide several health benefits for both the new-born and the mother. Protection against respiratory tract infections, otitis media, late-onset sepsis in preterm babies, type 1 and 2 diabetes, urinary tract infections, childhood obesity, lymphoma, leukaemia, and Hodgkin’s disease are only a few of the benefits to the infant. Reduced stress for the mother is one of the advantages.
It is preferable to partially breastfeed than to not breastfeed at all. Most policy pronouncements and research make the distinction between exclusive breastfeeding and non-breastfeeding. During the first year of life, many new-borns are given a safe combination of breast milk and formula.
The availability of lactation facilities on the job has an impact on breastfeeding success. Requesting a different location for pumping breast milk is advisable if someone is not comfortable.. A frightening, filthy, unsecured, chilly, exposed, or threatening environment is not favourable to milk pumping. Hence, it’s never too late to make a request, even if you’ve already addressed this issue, it’s good to revisit it. Breastfeeding mothers offer substantial immunity to their infants, resulting in less time away from work due to ill children.
According to the research, the amount of time women spends pumping at work does not reduce their productivity. When women like pumping at work, it might significantly boost it. It’s becoming obvious that pumping is beneficial for both mothers and children and that employers and co-workers should assist women who need to pump in the workplace.
So, showing compassion and flexibility for nursing moms at work may go a long way. Working moms will feel better, be more productive, and be able to go home knowing that their kids will receive the breastmilk they desire.
What is required to set a breastfeeding room?
Many organizations need a separate space for breastfeeding where mothers can feed their children without being interrupted. And if we have minimum no. of lactating mothers working in the organisation, setting up breastfeeding rooms for them would be an essential step as well. Here are a few things that will be required to set up a breastfeeding room in an organization:
- A room that is centrally devoted to the mother’s needs, and nothing else.
- An electric plug portal, for plugging in the pumping device.
- The room must not be suffocated and should have good air ventilation.
- 2-3 tables or countertops offered for keeping the material/supplies & comfortable seating must also be provided for the mothers.
- The room must be kept sanitized.
- The room should be always accessible to the mother.
- The room must have adequate area and space for multiple women.
- The room should be well lit up and not dingy.