How to influence your employees to create a supportive environment for breastfeeding parents

If you’re reading this, chances are you’ve already taken the steps to support breastfeeding employees in your workplace and you’re familiar with your legal obligations.  

However, even in organisations with clear return-to-work policies and provisions for breastfeeding, parents are less likely to continue breastfeeding if they don’t have the support of their direct colleagues and managers. This early departure from breastfeeding can lead to feelings of disappointment and symptoms of depression for those hoping to continue breastfeeding for longer periods. 

On the other hand, when managers and co-workers are supportive of breastfeeding, parents report feelings of inclusion (rather than isolation and anxiety). It is therefore crucial that all the employees in your business understand why you are supporting their breastfeeding colleague, and that they have a role in creating a supportive environment for breastfeeding employees.  

How to get your staff on board 

Showing your support 

You shape the culture of your organisation. Your visible support of new parents can help define the expected behaviours, values and attitudes of your people. You can show your support of breastfeeding employees by: 

• Communicating your support – make it clear to everyone in your organisation that you support breastfeeding in the workplace, be that via a breastfeeding policy or how you speak about it.  

• Modelling behaviours – this could mean making sure you don’t schedule meetings when you know your employee will be expressing breastmilk, not interrupting your employee while they’re feeding, or relieving your employee when you know they need to express.  

• Being mindful of your reactions – for example, if your employee needs to decline a task, meeting or event because they need to express, making sure you react positively to this. 

• Resourcing appropriately – this means not making your non-breastfeeding employees feel like they’re carrying a burden to ‘step in’. Acknowledge their contribution, and also make sure you’re appropriately resourced so you’re not potentially creating a culture of resentment. It also means making sure your breastfeeding employee can take the time they need to meet infant feeding needs.  

Educating your employees 

You can do this by: 

• Helping your employees understand the link between feeding support and good perinatal mental health in new parents. 

• Helping the people in your business understand how valuable their support is in supporting the good mental health of their colleague. 

• Educating your employees about your organisation’s legal obligations. 

• Making sure your employees are clear on: 

• where dedicated breastfeeding facilities are. 

• when they will be in use and/or off limits. 

• the importance of not interrupting.  

• Timing – feeding and expressing can take anything from 15-60 minutes per session.  

• Ensuring you are addressing any resourcing concerns they may have. 

• Sharing this factsheet with them.  

By actively supporting a breastfeeding parent you've built on a culture of mutual problem solving, flexibility and a mentally healthy approach to supporting new parents. Keep it up (the future parents in your organisation will thank you for it). 

Five tips you can give your staff to help them support the returning parent 

1. Speak up if you notice the breastfeeding mother is having difficulty combining breastfeeding with their return to work. 
   For example, if breaks are not being scheduled or if there is a lack of understanding from others, leading to insensitive comments.  

2. Provide verbal encouragement and show your support of breastfeeding.  
   Often breastfeeding parents will make a significant effort to ensure they are not impacting others, even though they have a right to combine breastfeeding and paid work. Encourage your staff to verbalise their support of their breastfeeding colleague, i.e. “this is great what you’re doing”. 

3. Ask, don’t assume when it comes to etiquette and respecting privacy.  
   Employees who have not previously been exposed to breastfeeding mothers may feel uncomfortable or unsure about how to behave and every breastfeeding parent will have different privacy needs. Encourage your employees to ask their breastfeeding colleague what they’re comfortable with, for example: “Sandy, do you mind if I sit here while you express?” or, “Jane, would you like some company while you express?”.  

4. Avoid booking meetings or appointments at times your colleague has indicated they need to feed.  
   It’s worth noting that delaying breastfeeding times can lead to discomfort for the breastfeeding parent and, in some cases, serious illness. It’s important that the breastfeeding parent is given the time they need to alleviate discomfort. As the baby ages, breastfeeding needs may change, impacting the timing of lactation breaks.  

5. Be creative and problem solve when things get busy or when managing multiple customer demands.  
   It can be challenging for breastfeeding parents to ask their colleagues to cover breaks, especially when work demands are high. Colleagues can help by being proactive in actively reassuring the parent they can manage while they take a breastfeeding break.   

Finally, make sure you’re modelling the above yourself! 

Five common pitfalls and how to avoid them

1. Don’t leave it to the breastfeeding parent to negotiate their lactation breaks with colleagues.  
   Research indicates that breastfeeding women can feel reluctant to ask for lactation breaks as they don’t want to inconvenience others.  This needs to be planned for and communicated through leadership to ensure the woman can access the support they need. 

2. Don’t make unhelpful jokes or criticise about ‘letting others down’ or ‘slacking off’.  
   Breastfeeding parents are likely already going to significant lengths to not only maintain breastfeeding in the workplace for the sake of their infant, but also to reduce their impact on others as much as possible. Jokes and insensitive comments can reinforce unhelpful thoughts about being a ‘burden’, and increase anxiety and stress.  

3. Don’t limit access to facilities based on unhelpful myths. 
   An example of this could be not providing access to the staff fridge or sink due to beliefs that breastmilk is unhygienic. It’s important to allow breastfeeding employees access to all facilities to support their breastfeeding journey. 

4. Don’t make assumptions about the breastfeeding employee’s preferences based on your own experience or that of other people in your life.  
   Remember, just because things were done one way “back in my day” or Julie from accounts was happy to pump and chat, it doesn’t mean that’s the way everyone wants to do it.  

5. Don’t expect colleagues to manage breastfeeding while completing other activities, such as answering the phone, eating lunch or multitasking to meet work commitments.  
   Breastfeeding is not only a physical task, but requires emotional and mental components too – and these needs can vary depending on the individual.

_{This resource was developed in consultation with Associate Professor Elaine Burns and Dr Sky Hugman, Western Sydney University.}