Most workplaces not designed to support breastfeeding parents, survey finds

As National Breastfeeding Month begins, a new survey reveals that nursing parents lack the support, infrastructure, and information they need to meet both American Academy of Pediatrics’ recommendations and personal goals.

Mamava (the inventor of lactation pods) and Medela (a breastfeeding products and information company) surveyed more than 15,000 breastfeeding parents and found that 47% cite a lack of time to pump at work. This is happening despite the federal PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act and many state laws that require employers to provide breastfeeding employees with a lactation space and reasonable break time to pump. Breastfeeding parents who work away from their baby must pump breast milk every few hours.

The “2023 State of Breastfeeding Survey” was conducted in June and focused on parents’ breastfeeding motivations, challenges, and support systems.

“Over the last decade, we’ve seen significant progress in education, policy, and infrastructure that makes breastfeeding a more realistic option for anyone who wants to do it — but not nearly enough to support parents in meeting their personal goals, or the American Academy of Pediatrics’ recommendations to breastfeed for two years,” Sascha Mayer, cofounder and chief experience officer for Mamava, said in a statement. “We can’t just double the length of time parents should breastfeed to see health benefits and not significantly level up the structures of support that will help them be successful. That’s an incredible amount of pressure to shoulder alone. Breastfeeding babies is everyone’s job, because breastfeeding benefits everyone. We need better education and more inclusive communities and work environments.”

Other highlights of the survey results:

• Only 15% of respondents say public spaces are fully supportive of breastfeeding parents’ needs.
• 53% of respondents aren’t sure of their workplace lactation rights, and more than 1 in 4 do not feel even somewhat supported at work.
• 1 in 3 parents lack access to a reliable workplace lactation space.
• 61% say the logistics of pumping — packing, transporting, and cleaning pump parts — are a top challenge to breastfeeding.

Related: The benefits of building a more female-friendly and inclusive workplace

The study also revealed that breastfeeding is often more of a culturally and socially informed experience than a clinically guided one. Internet searches topped parents’ list of sources for breastfeeding information (58%), followed by social media and lactation consultants (53%), friends and family (52%), and breastfeeding apps (35%). Only 1 in 3 consulted pediatricians, according to the survey results.