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Oregon Legislation to Support Breastfeeding in the Workplace

Kenneth D. Rosenberg, MD, MPHKatherine J. Bradley, PhD, RN

Office of Family HealthPublic Health DivisionOregon Dept of Human ServicesMCH Epidemiology MeetingAtlanta, GADecember 8, 2008

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Overview

History of Workplace Support for Breastfeeding

Oregon Data

Legislative Keys to Success

HB 2372

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Breastfeeding Think Tank

Breastfeeding Think Tank: Monthly meeting of breastfeeding program staff and researchers; for many years

Program and data staff share what they are doing and brainstorm about long-term planning.

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Welfare Reform and Workplace Breastfeeding

In the late-1990s, new Welfare-to-Work legislation led to more low-income breastfeeding women returning to work.

There were anecdotal reports that women were discontinuing breastfeeding because of barriers to breastfeeding in their workplaces.

WIC staff began work with employers to make workplaces more breastfeeding mother friendly.

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Oregon DHS Leadership:Breastfeeding a priority since 1997

WIC staff training Breastpumps

over 34,000 distributed Employer education Media promotion Protection

Wallet cards SAFENET

Partner with community

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Work/school as Barrier to Continuing Breastfeeding

Early data from Oregon PRAMS (1998-1999) showed that over 90% of Oregon women initiated breastfeeding and that many of the initiators had stopped breastfeeding by the time of the survey (3-4 months old).

37% of those who reported barriers to breastfeeding said that they had stopped because they were planning on going to work or school.

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Making State Office Building Breastfeeding-Friendly

This led us to focus onmaking workplaces morebreastfeeding-friendly.

Several staff members began by working to get private space and refrigeration for breastfeeding workers in our state office building.

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Breastfeeding-Friendly Workplaces

After this was accomplished, local health department buildings were encouraged to become breastfeeding mother friendly.

And a program was developed to encourage all employers to become breastfeeding mother friendly.

The program has distributed materials to employers and has designated 61 Oregon employers (with over 60,000 employees) as being breastfeeding mother friendly.

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Data for Legislators

Some of the numbers used in the Oregon legislative deliberations that led to the passage of Oregon House Bill 2372 (now known as Rest Periods for Expression of Breast milk):

In addition to the Oregon PRAMS data: National Immunization Survey data on

breastfeeding in Oregon (for 2000 births): Initiated breastfeeding: 90.6% Any breastfeeding at 6 months: 54.3% Any breastfeeding at 12 months: 28.1%

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Data for Legislators

Ross Mothers Survey, Oregon, 2000 Initiated breastfeeding: 88.6% Any breastfeeding at 6 months: 44.6%

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Why legislation?

Limited impact of DHS voluntary recognition program

Growing body of research on sustained health effects

Sharp decrease in breastfeeding rates at six & twelve months

Work/School barrier

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Legislative Sessions (2005 & 2007)

Keys to success

Oregon Women's Health & Wellness Alliance (bipartisan legislative group)

Broad coalition of organizations

Abundance of pro-breastfeeding “lay” organizations

National & State Data

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Diane Garrett, Mother & Community Advocate Extraordinaire

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2005 Legislature

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2007 Legislature – HB 2372

Business benefit & recruitment tool

Mother and infant health impacts

Democratic House & Senate

Legislative experiences

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HB 2372 Requires Employers of 25+ Employees

Employers shall:

Provide unpaid rest periods (30 min/4 hours)

Provide a private location

Employees shall:

Provide reasonable notice

Try to utilize standard breaks and meals

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Impact to Date

10% of Employers, 70% of Employees

Under Oregon Bureau of Labor & Industries

Advisory Committee for “undue hardship” exemptions

No requests for exemptions

No complaints from consumers

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HRSA/MCHB Business Case for Breastfeeding Toolkit

5 individual file folders target varied groups who impact employed mothers:

1. Business case -Employers

2. Easy steps -HR managers

3. Toolkit -- HR managers

4. Employees Guide

5. Outreach workers

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Thank You