In time for National Breastfeeding Week (October 1-7, 2024), PHSA is leading the way by introducing workplace guidelines on human milk supports for employees returning to work or with a new child in their life.
What started as guidance information for human milk feeding (breastfeeding, chestfeeding and expressing milk) at PHSA, has evolved into an official Guideline: Human Milk Supports for Expressing, Collection and Storage for Staff. This Guideline is the product of an ongoing partnership between the People and Culture’s Workforce Strategies team at PHSA and Perinatal Services BC (PSBC).
“I’m so excited and happy to see this work come to fruition. I personally know what a challenge breastfeeding can be when returning to work. Our hope is these guidelines are the start of a journey of PHSA supporting all staff that would like to express, collect or store human milk at work. Returning to work should not be a barrier to the choices staff are making about how long to feed human milk,” said Susan Anthony, director, Workforce Strategies, People and Culture.
The launch of this Guideline reaffirms PHSA’s commitment to the 2024 National Breastfeeding Week theme: ‘Closing the gap: breastfeeding support for all,’ and aligns with its values of equity and respect.
“We’re excited to see PHSA take the lead in developing guidelines that support breastfeeding, chestfeeding and expressing milk as fundamental human rights,” said Lea Geiger, provincial clinical coordinator, Maternal Infant Health with PSBC. As a perinatal nurse with a focus on lactation for 31 years, Lea has seen the need for supportive spaces firsthand. “This initiative ensures that PHSA employees in a human milk feeding relationship can return to work without having to sacrifice their feeding goals, and its impact extends far beyond the workplace.”
Caroline Cawley is an epidemiologist with PSBC who recently returned from her 10-month parental leave. Before returning to work, Caroline checked in with senior leadership at PSBC to discuss her need for a designated lactation space to accommodate pumping milk for her son. Caroline was pleasantly surprised to hear that over the span of her parental leave, her colleagues were working with PHSA partners to ensure a Guideline would be available for staff like herself.
“I was comfortable telling my team what I wanted to do when returning to work and what I needed to achieve it, but I think it’s really positive to have it spelled out to support people who may be less aware of what their rights are when breastfeeding or chestfeeding,” said Caroline.
As an epidemiologist, Caroline knows the public health benefits of maximizing a parent and child’s human milk feeding period are significant.
“Breastfeeding or chestfeeding is shown to reduce a baby’s risk of multiple illnesses and health issues, including ear infections and pneumonia, and for the parent, chestfeeding or breastfeeding reduces the risk of breast and ovarian cancers,” continued Caroline.
Caroline effectively points out that by further ensuring lactating parents at PHSA can feed their young children for their desired length of time, the new Guideline is a “win-win-win” for lactating employees and their children, PHSA and public health.
Through a phased approach, PHSA is now establishing locations for permanent multi-purpose spaces to support lactation. The first phase will take place at some of PHSA’s most populated sites. The multi-purpose spaces are scheduled to officially open by the end of the year. Additional locations are in development and will be addressed on a case-by-case basis.
PSBC has updated the provincial universal breastfeeding and chestfeeding decals for National Breastfeeding Week to foster inclusivity and support for all feeding individuals. This change reflects PSBC and PHSA’s commitment to recognizing and supporting diverse feeding relationships.
Additionally, Trans Care BC recently introduced a suite of new infant feeding and parenting resources for trans, Two-Spirit and non-binary parents. Explore the resources here.
Health authorities across B.C. have received the updated decals and have been asked to join PSBC’s #PSBCSnapShare2024 campaign. We encourage you to take part in this year’s National Breastfeeding Week campaign by:
Download and/or print these resources: