Credit: New Africa/Adobe Stock

The World Health Organization recommends exclusively breastfeeding for the first six months of a baby's life. Besides providing the best nutrients for growth, breastfeeding helps to decrease the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, asthma, leukemia, and infections in babies. However, only 27% of private industry workers in the United States have access to paid family leave. Women with children are the workforce's fastest-growing segment, yet 1 in 3 lack reliable lactation space and half lack time during the day for pumping breaks. Consequently, breastfeeding rates plummet in the first six months as new moms return to work. New mothers should not be forced to choose between breastfeeding their babies and returning to work.

Continue Reading for Free

Register and gain access to:

  • Breaking benefits news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
  • Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
  • Critical converage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
NOT FOR REPRINT

© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.