Workplaces must factor in mothers’ breast-feeding rights
WHEN my generation of women entered the workforce there was an unspoken message that the worst of women’s struggles were behind us.
The #MeToo movement and debates about the gender pay gap have woken us up to the illusion of gender equity.
The gender pay gap not only reflects prejudice, but also the different roles women and men play in parenthood.
The ability to continue breast-feeding colours the decisions mothers make when it comes to participation in the workplace.
The matter is not so stark in South Africa, where there is paid maternity leave.
But global health guidelines recommend breast milk as the exclusive source of nourishment for a baby for six months, which is beyond what maternity leave most employers offer.
The World Health Organisation goes further than this and recommends that breast-feeding (combined with other sources of nourishment) should continue for two years.
This implies that many women will continue breastfeeding after returning to work.
There are two important barriers confronting women here: the price of breast pumps, and adequate physical and cultural accommodation in the workplace.
As breast milk operates on a use-it-or- lose-it principle, a woman has to extract milk every three hours or so to maintain her level of milk supply and prevent engorgement.
She can “pump and dump” at work, especially if the milk is produced in unsanitary conditions.
Ideally, though, milk expressed during the day should be taken home to feed the baby when the mother is away (or when she’s sleeping).
The code of good practice on the protection of employees during pregnancy and after the birth of a child – one of the codes of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act – calls for employees to have two 30-minute breaks to express milk or breast-feed for the first six months of a child’s life.
In Work. Pump. Repeat. author Jessica Shortall shows women “how to pump on a public toilet, in an airplane, in a moving car and virtually everywhere in between”.
I applaud her for helping women make the most of any lactation situation, but health practitioners expressly forbid using public toilets as they are unsanitary.
The International Labour Organisation recommends, that organisations provide hygienic conditions for breastfeeding at or near the mother’s workplace.
Organisations benefit from providing an “employer value proposition” that goes beyond the statutory minimum.
Where breast-feeding is supported, retention of new mothers is improved.
A breast-fed baby is sick less often, which means fewer interruptions at work.
There have been tentative moves to bring innovation to this area.
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is convening its second hackathon at the end of April to inspire the reinvention of the breast pump.
It strikes me how in other parts of our lives – make-up, smartphones, fashion, kitchen gadgets, transportation – innovation has delivered beautiful products and convenience.
When it comes to motherhood, though, technology and aesthetics are mediocre at best, if not frightening (check out any regular breast pump).
For my part, I have challenged a talented architect to develop a flexible solution to provide space and privacy for pumping mothers in workspaces where such accommodations do not exist.
I’m excited enough about what she has produced to put some seed money into developing prototypes. Women make things happen. There’s a lot of analysis that goes into how the technologies and modalities of the fourth industrial revolution will change the nature of work.
Equal vigour is needed to create a world of work that embraces and encourages the participation of women.
Where breast-feeding is supported, retention of new mothers is improved