Breastfeeding and working is not something that is easy for many women, mainly because in most workplaces, there is no designated space for milk to be drawn during their workday.
In many companies, the "nursing rooms" that are available to mothers are the office bathroom, a place that is definitely not the best or the most appropriate. But in California, that won't happen anymore, thanks to a new law, in which companies are forced to have adequate spaces, so that nursing mothers can express breast milk.
In fact, for some years there was a law stating that all employers must have a space that is not a cubicle inside the company's bathrooms, which many took the opportunity to continue sending them to the bathroom, but placing a chair in a corner and thus "comply" with what the law said.
In Babies and more Breastfeeding and working: what mothers need to make it possibleNow, The new law clearly and explicitly states that the bathroom is not the space that mothers deserve to express milk, and now "they must make reasonable efforts to provide employees with the use of a room or other space, other than a bathroom, for these purposes", that is, for those who continue breastfeeding when they return to work after their maternity leave.
It seems an insignificant change of a few words, but in reality, its impact is very large, because now it will not only be forbidden to continue with that unpleasant practice of sending mothers to a bath, but should look for ways to provide them with a space where they can do it comfortably.
The new law specifies that, in case of space, structure or the nature of the company's facilities, it is not possible to have a room exclusively designated for nursing mothers, they must provide a room close to the employee's work area, so that milk can be extracted privately. In case of not complying with the new law, employers will receive a fine.
News and laws like this they are of the utmost importance to continue promoting and protecting breastfeeding, precisely because the return to work is one of the main reasons why mothers abandon breastfeeding before six months.
