Breastfeeding Task Force Applauds County Agencys Move to Support Breastfeeding Employees

As of January 2002, the State of California passed a law (AB 1025) requiring employers to provide unpaid break time and a private space to express breast milk during the workday. The Breastfeeding Task Force of Greater Los Angeles commends the County of Los Angeles for its leadership in ensuring support for breastfeeding employees by providing suitable space and time to express milk throughout the work day.

Los Angeles, CA, (PRWEB) March 17, 2004 --According to a report just released by the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services, more mothers in Los Angeles County are initiating breastfeeding (82%). The overall breastfeeding initiation rate is higher now compared to the previous survey (1999) estimated percentage of 79%.

However, disparities persist, with African-American (63%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (78%) women having lower breastfeeding initiation rates compared to Latinas (83%) and White women (90%). Furthermore, breastfeeding rates decline steadily over the infants first year for all major racial/ethnic groups, with only half of all mothers still breastfeeding their infants at six months of age, and less than one-third at 12 months.

As of January 2002, the State of California passed a law (AB 1025) requiring employers to provide unpaid break time and a private space to express breast milk during the workday. Findings from the 2002-03 Los Angeles County Health Survey revealed that 60% of mothers stopped breastfeeding when they returned to work within six months of giving birth. Breastfeeding friendly workplaces have been shown to decrease employee absenteeism by up to 57% due to the health benefits for both mother and baby, while enhancing employee productivity, loyalty, and morale.

The Departmenf of Health Services of the County of Los Angeles, as part of its continuing commitment to support and promote breastfeeding in the workplace, will open a new lactation room, located in the Superior Court Building on 600 South Commonwealth in Los Angeles. This is the second such facility to benefit from the Countys breastfeeding support programs. The Countys programs provide employees lactation rooms where breastfeeding mothers can express their milk throughout the day with access to hand washing facilities, comfortable accommodations, and support services, including nutrition and breastfeeding information. At this facility, the room will be available to breastfeeding employees of the Department of Health Services and the Superior Court Building. In conjunction with the opening of this lactation room, the Breastfeeding Task Force of Greater Los Angeles will present the Family Health Promotion Award to the Countys Department of Health Services.

Women with infants comprise one of the most important segments of the U.S. workforce," said Karen Peters, executive director of the Breastfeeding Task Force of Greater Los Angeles. We commend the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services for its leadership in providing programs to support a mother's choice to continue to breastfeed when she returns to work. Programs such as this provide health benefits to women and infants, while providing employers real business benefits such as increased employee retention and lower health costs."

The Breastfeeding Task Force of Greater Los Angeles is a non-profit organization dedicated to educating the public about breastfeeding support and decreasing the societal barriers to breastfeeding. Many mothers fail to breastfeed or prematurely wean because of a perceived or actual lack of support from their employers. The Breastfeeding Works project will decrease those barriers by helping employers to realize the value of supporting breastfeeding working mothers. For more information, please visit its website at www.BreastfeedLA.org

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