In the United States and around the globe, the month of August is all about breastfeeding awareness!
August 1—7 marks World Breastfeeding Week, which was first celebrated in 1992 by World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action, and seeks to highlight the benefits of breastfeeding for both mothers and children, empower women, and start children out on the right foot. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services also recognizes August as National Breastfeeding Awareness Month, and as of earlier this year, all 50 states have finally adopted legislation protecting nursing mothers who breastfeed in public.
Public health experts recommend that babies are breastfed for at least a year and exclusively for the first six months, but for moms who return to work, breastfeeding often needs to end early if they don’t have a private space to express milk during the day. After all, a bathroom just doesn’t cut it.
Penn Medicine is committed to supporting breastfeeding moms who need to pump at work by providing private, comfortable spaces that are equipped with the necessary supplies. The Mother’s Room Project aims to create a catalogue of all the existing lactation lounges throughout the health system and to outfit additional spaces with hospital grade breast pumps so there is at least one room at every location. At Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, the Wright-Saunders building is home to a lactation lounge with multiple stations, and another is under construction at PMUC and will be ready by the month’s end.
“This initiative has been really successful so far, and it’s been wonderful having the enthusiastic support of leadership across the health system,” said Jen Brady, MA, RD, LDN, manager of Employee Health and Well-Being. “Employee wellness is our focus, and it’s our goal to ease the transition and support staff at every level and in every location as they fulfill their breastfeeding goals.”
To learn more about Penn’s support for breastfeeding employees, check out the Nursing Mother’s Information page on the HR & You website under the Work Life tab.