Thirty-two employers were considered for the Breastfeeding-Friendly Workplace Award, including the top 25 employers in San Diego County. The Coalition chose Sea World to be this year's recipient because of its commitment to support breastfeeding mothers working at the park via a comprehensive corporate lactation program. This support begins before the baby is born with prenatal breastfeeding classes provided for Sea World team members and their partners. Lactation education, counseling and support continues for the first eight months of the baby's life at no cost to the employee. If the employee needs an electric breastpump beyond that time period, it may be rented for a nominal fee.

Sea World also created a Breastfeeding Friendly Room equipped with a comfortable couch where female employees who are expressing their milk may do so in a private relaxing environment. More than 40 Sea World Team Members have taken advantage of this program. In addition, the park has a nursing room for park guests. Research has shown that companies that provide a breastfeeding-friendly workplace have up to 57% less employee absenteeism due to the health benefits of breastfeeding, and increased employee productivity, loyalty and morale.

World Breastfeeding Week is celebrated internationally every year from August 1 to 7. This year's theme is "Breastfeeding: The Best Investment," focusing on the economic benefits of breastfeeding. Breastfeeding requires very little investment and has a tremendous payback for families, employers, communities, health care institutions and governments. This year's goals are to:

• Raise public awareness on the economic value of breastfeeding;
• Provide concrete data on the economic advantages of breastfeeding;
• Help governments appreciate the full economic value of breastfeeding;
• Encourage governments to include breastfeeding promotion programs in the national health budget.