When the PUMP Act was signed into law in December 2022, it was considered a landmark piece of legislation supporting the rights of breastfeeding parents everywhere. Up until that point, there were loopholes in previous legislation that meant working parents weren’t always guaranteed the right to a private place to pump or dedicated “reasonable break time” to do so—or be able to sue if their employers were not compliant with the law. But even though it’s been almost two years since the PUMP Act was passed, it seems there’s still more work to do in the effort to support nursing parents.
The annual State of Breastfeeding Survey from Mamava and Medela found that among nearly 7,000 parents surveyed, there’s still a critical need for increased access to breastfeeding support and infrastructure in workplaces and public spaces—and education around their rights when it comes to breastfeeding at work.
More education needed around the PUMP Act
The survey found that 1 in 3 parents lack reliable access to a dedicated lactation space at work, and that 43% of parents remain unaware or unclear about the PUMP Act and its legal requirements for workplace lactation support.
Fifty-two percent of parents identified finding places to pump or nurse on the go as their top breastfeeding challenge, closely followed by 47% citing insufficient time for nursing/pumping breaks.
“Our survey results expose the reality that our society must do more to provide breastfeeding parents with the essential support and infrastructure they need,” said Sascha Mayer, Mamava Co-Founder and Chief Experience Officer, in a statement. “Despite federal protections established by the PUMP Act, even the most committed breastfeeding parents face significant barriers. It’s clear we need to create more supportive workplaces and public spaces to ensure that every breastfeeding parent has the opportunity to feed their children in a private, dignified and comfortable environment.”
That looks like both educating parents on their rights—and helping employers understand their legal responsibilities and possible solutions, Mayer tells Motherly. While some employers have taken the initiative to update their breastfeeding laws and policies, others are still resistant, which has led to a spate of lawsuits from employees this year, The 19th reports.
‘Lactation support at work is a win for everyone’
But everyone deserves the right to decide how they want to feed their baby, and when employers are supportive, it has big benefits.
“Providing lactation support at work is a win for everyone: parents, babies, and businesses, as it helps with employee retention and even recruitment,” Mayer adds.
The cost of providing that support is often a cheaper investment than hiring a new employee. “The total investment to hire one new employee [at the average U.S. salary of $60,000/year] can exceed $180,000. This is well over 15x the cost to implement adequate breastfeeding support infrastructure like lactation pods, workplace policies and employee education. This doesn’t even take into account the ‘priceless’ benefit employees feel when supported by their employers at such a critical time and by being connected to a company that values each person’s unique circumstances,” Mayer says.
For some employers, it’s a lack of education around the logistics of breastfeeding—they simply may not know what’s required, which is why awareness is one of the most important steps. Helping business leaders understand that a parent away from their baby needs to pump every few hours for 20 to 30 minute blocks of time, that breast pumps require a high level of sterility, that pumped milk must be stored cold and that privacy is paramount—all that can work to address the challenges many parents cited in the survey. Even simply sharing out the survey results could help raise awareness. “Leveraging this kind of data provides a great opportunity to open up a conversation at the workplace,” Mayer explains.
There’s also still a major disconnect between medical guidance around breastfeeding and workplace policies. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that babies are exclusively breastfed for the first 6 months of life, and that breastfeeding continues for at least two years after birth. Despite those guidelines, CDC statistics show that 60% of mothers do not breastfeed for as long as they’d like—and just 59% of babies are still breastfed at that 6-month mark.
Aside from low workplace compliance with the PUMP Act, that issue is likely also related to the fact that the US offers no federal paid leave—and that there’s an insurance gap when it comes to lactation support, in addition to myriad other factors. Offering just 12 weeks of paid leave would help families get better established on their breastfeeding journey and would directly increase breastfeeding rates at 6 months of age. Passing federally funded paid leave is critical, Mayer notes, supported by “appropriate lactation accommodations at work and everywhere breastfeeding parents may go.”
The changes also need to happen on a cultural level, Mayer stresses, which the CDC states is another key factor in the discontinuation of breastfeeding at 6 months.
“We need a culture that understands the health benefits of breastfeeding and the logistical challenges that breastfeeding presents, particularly for parents who need to be away from their baby for long periods of time, as is true for those who work outside of the home,” says Mayer. A societal shift of that scale won’t happen overnight, but Mamava is continuing to raise awareness about the needs of breastfeeding families and inspire more conversations about breastfeeding-friendly policies.
Curious if your workplace is in compliance with PUMP Act regulations? Take this quiz to see if your workplace is supportive of breastfeeding, with advice on how to level up.
