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Breastfeeding at Work

Breastfeeding at Work

Having your employer's support will be important to successfully continue breastfeeding. Talk with your employer when you are pregnant or before you return to work about your plan to keep breastfeeding. Also let your employer know that you will need to pump (express) breastmilk during the workday.

Be sure your employer understands that breastfeeding and pumping at work are not just good for your baby—they also are good for the company. Evidence shows that employer support for breastfeeding and the breast-pumping breaks it calls for result in fewer employee absences and greater worker productivity. This makes sense when you consider that:

  • Your breastfed, or breastmilk-fed, baby is less likely to develop many kinds of infectious illnesses. So you are less likely to take days off to care for a sick baby.

  • You are less likely to be distracted on the job because you had to leave a sick baby with a sitter, or because you are worried about milk production or other breastfeeding issue.

  • If you are able to pump every few hours, you are less likely to develop a breast infection (mastitis). This is a health problem that may need you to take 1 or more days off work.

Let your employer know that frequent workday breast-pumping breaks don't last forever. The number will drop as your baby gets older and as they develop and eat more solid foods.

Other workplace issues to think about are:

  • Will you be able to take breast-pumping breaks close to your baby's feeding schedule? Or must pumping wait for scheduled worksite breaks and lunch?

  • Is there a place where you may go to pump or express your breastmilk in private? Do you have access to clean, running water? Fair labor standards require that your employer give you a clean area to express your breastmilk in private. Bathrooms are private. But don't express your milk there. 

  • Is there a refrigerator to store breastmilk in during the day? Or do you need to bring an insulated cooler for storage?

Reviewed Date: 01-01-2023

Breastfeeding at Work
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Quizzes
Breastfeeding Quiz
Diseases & Conditions
Adding to Mother's Milk
Anatomy of a Newborn Baby’s Skull
Assessments for Newborn Babies
Baby's Care After Birth
Breast Conditions in Young Women
Breast Health and Adolescents
Breast Milk Collection and Storage
Breast Milk Expression
Breastfeeding and Delayed Milk Production
Breastfeeding and Returning To Work
Breastfeeding at Work
Breastfeeding Difficulties - Baby
Breastfeeding Difficulties - Mother
Breastfeeding the High-Risk Newborn
Breastfeeding When Returning to Work
Breastfeeding Your Baby
Breastfeeding Your High-Risk Baby
Breastfeeding Your Premature Baby
Breastfeeding: Getting Started
Breastfeeding: Returning to Work
Breastmilk: Pumping, Collecting, Storing
Breathing Problems
Care of the Baby in the Delivery Room
Caring for Babies in the NICU
Caring for Newborn Multiples
Common Conditions and Complications
Common Procedures
Congenital Heart Disease Index
Difficulty with Latching On or Sucking
Digestive Disorders
Effective Sucking
Expressing Milk for Your High-Risk Baby
Expressing Your Milk - Helpful Equipment
Female Growth and Development
Fever in a Newborn Baby
Flat or Inverted Nipples
Hearing Loss in Babies
Hearing Screening Tests for Newborns
Heart Disorders
High-Risk Newborn Blood Disorders
How Breastmilk Is Made
Infant Feeding Guide
Infant of a Mother with Diabetes
Infant Play
Infant Sleep
Infection in Babies
Inguinal Hernia in Children
Keeping Your Baby Warm
Low Milk Production
Male Conditions
Managing Poor Weight Gain in Your Breastfed Baby
Maternal Nutrition and Breastfeeding
Maternity Leave
Megaureter in Children
Micropenis in Children
Milk Production and Your High-Risk Baby
Neurological Disorders in the Newborn
Newborn Appearance
Newborn Babies: Getting Ready at Home
Newborn Behaviors and Activities
Newborn Complications
Newborn Crying
Newborn Health Assessment
Newborn Measurements
Newborn Reflexes
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Newborn Senses
Newborn Sleep Patterns
Newborn Warning Signs
Overactive Let-Down
Physical Exam of the Newborn
Plugged Milk Ducts
Preparing for Your New Baby
Preparing the Family
Skin Color Changes
Sore Nipples
Storing Your Breastmilk
Substance Exposure
Surgery and the Breastfeeding Infant
Taking Care of Your Breast Pump and Collection Kit
Taking Your Baby Home from the NICU
Thawing Breast Milk
The Benefits of Mother's Own Milk
The Growing Child: Newborn
The Respiratory System in Babies
Thrush (Oral Candida Infection) in Children
Topic Index - Adolescent Medicine
Transient Tachypnea of the Newborn
Umbilical Cord Care
Using a Breast Pump
Vision and Hearing
When to Call Your Child's Healthcare Provider
Your Baby and Breastfeeding
Your High-Risk Baby and Expressing Milk

Disclaimer: This information is not intended to substitute or replace the professional medical advice you receive from your child's physician. The content provided on this page is for informational purposes only, and was not designed to diagnose or treat a health problem or disease. Please consult your child's physician with any questions or concerns you may have regarding a medical condition.