Centura Health - St. Thomas More Hospital recently received designation as a Breastfeeding Friendly Employer from the Fremont County Department of Public Health and Environment.
According to Fremont County Public Health, breastfeeding moms face logistical obstacles to being successful. Employers have the opportunity to be supportive and help staff provide the ideal nutrition for their babies. Breastfeeding friendly employers have healthier work forces and overall better morale.
By providing support for nursing women at work businesses have:
- Lower health care costs due to healthier babies and moms
- Reduced rate of absenteeism due to infant illness (among both mothers and fathers)
- Lower turnover rates
- Improved employee productivity and loyalty
Businesses that have received this designation have complied with Colorado and federal laws. In 2008 Colorado lawmakers passed the Workplace Accommodation for Nursing Mothers Act that requires employers to make breastfeeding accommodation in the workplace for the first 2 years of an employee’s child’s life by providing:
- Time (unpaid or paid break and /or meal time) to breastfeed or pump
- Private space, other than a restroom, for the purpose of expressing milk at work
