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How KYOCERA implemented a Lactation Program
Question: When and why did you start up a Lactation Program at Kyocera?Answer: We started up the program about five months ago because we realized we had younger women of child bearing years that were not able to come back to work very easily due to breastfeeding issues and the challenges of pumping their milk.Question: How did you go about setting your program up?Answer: Susan Kobara of HealthShare told us about the benefits of starting up a program and how to do it. She presented information on why this type of program is important, showed us equipment we might want to purchase, gave us justifications we might need to use when trying to get internal approval, and helped us set up a nursing library for the mothers.Question: What sort of accommodations did you have to set up for your lactating staff? |
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Answer: We already had an extra room available where we added a refrigerator, nursing library, table and pump station. It was really easy.Question: What costs were involved?Answer: It cost around $1,000 - $1,500 to set up the Lactation Program. We spent $700 for a Medela dual Pump and the rest of the money went for the library, refrigerator, etc.Question: What has been the overall response from staff and management to your program?Answer: Staff and Management really like the program and are using it. Kyocera has a "Family Friendly" approach to its employees so it didn't take much to convince the management that this would be a good program. The mothers who use the program are more focused on their work and have less hassles since they can pump and take care of their lactating needs here. We haven't seen anything but a positive response from this program.Eileen Mahoney is with the Health and Safety Dept. at Kyocera. |
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Nancy E. Wight MD, IBCLC
Women make up nearly 50% of today's workforce - approximately 63 million workers. Two-thirds of those women have children younger than 6 years old prompting issues such as maternity leave and childcare to be commonly addressed at the workplace. Unfortunately, many employers do not consider the need for proper facilities and break time to express breastmilk. Women are forced to hide in bathroom stalls and supply closets as they try to provide what is best for their babies' nutrition and health. This is not only unsanitary, but also extremely discouraging to mothers trying to fulfill the American Academy of Pediatrics recommendations to breastfeed for AT LEAST one year.
The International Labor Organization (ILO) has created labor standards for working women around the world that include: |
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Recent legislation, both state and federal, are addressing these needs. In California, Assembly member Dario J. Frommer (Glendale) has submitted AB 1025 (Lactation Accommodation) which provides for extra unpaid break time concurrent with existing break time so a woman can express milk during the workday. The bill also requires employers to provide proper facilities for pumping and storing milk. However, the employer is exempt if providing the break time would "unduly disrupt the operations of the employer". On a federal level, Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney (NY) has reintroduced the most comprehensive breastfeeding rights bill yet. HR 285, if enacted, will protect a woman's right to continue to express milk at work, will provide tax incentives to employers who make expenditures for breast pumps and other lactation accommodations, and will regulate performance standards for breast pumps. Senator Olympia Snowe (Maine) introduced S. 256. This bill, if enacted, will protect a woman's right to express milk at work by amending the Pregnancy Discrimination Act to include breastfeeding. The bill does not, however, include all the provisions of HR 285. To learn more about these and other bills, and how to contact your legislators and effect change, go to www.house.gov/maloney/issues/breastfeeding. |
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