Barbados in need of a workplace breastfeeding policy

Barbados stands in need of a breastfeeding policy that would set out the guidelines for employers and employees on how breastfeeding can be supported in the workplace.

According to Dr. Alison Bernard, President and Director of the Breastfeeding and Child Nutrition Foundation of Barbados (BCNF), this would include, but not be limited to: paid pumping breaks for breastfeeding mothers; access to a lactation room or space; education and sensitisation for all staff to facilitate creation of a breastfeeding friendly environment; guidance and maintenance of pumping equipment and spaces used to express milk; and also flexible working hours.

Dr. Bernard has suggested that having such a policy in place is important, since research has shown that many mothers do not exclusively breastfeed their children up to six months as the World Health Organisation recommends for ultimate health benefits for both mother and child, as mothers usually have to go back to work by the end of three months. She also stressed the link between childhood obesity and a lack of adequate breastfeeding as a cause for concern, given the increasing levels being seen in Barbados and across the region.

“We know childhood obesity is a problem - 41 million children worldwide between the ages of zero to five are overweight. Regionally, one in every three children is overweight or obese, and locally, 31.5 per cent of school aged children are overweight and 14.4 per cent are obese,” Dr. Bernard stated.

The BCNF Director however pointed to a study in the Lancet Journal, which suggests that longer periods of breastfeeding are associated with a 26 per cent reduction in the odds of overweight or obesity in children and this she said, is really significant.

“So we know childhood obesity is a problem. We know that exclusive breastfeeding is linked to childhood obesity, as it lowers that risk, but the problem is exclusive breastfeeding rates are low,” Bernard pointed out.

“What stops women from breastfeeding? A general lack of environments that support and enable women to breastfeedare barriers to breastfeeding. Also, the aggressive promotion of breast milk substitutes. And also a lack of recognition of economic losses that are incurred when women don’t breastfeed exclusively,” she added.

Dr. Bernard stressed the need to focus on the Barbadian workplace, since a study carried out by the BCNF in 2016, in collaboration with the University of the West Indies, showed that approximately 40 per cent of mothers cited the fact that they either stopped breastfeeding or they mixed fed their babies because they had to go back to work at three months.

“So how can we support mothers in breastfeeding? By having a breastfeeding workplace policy that is centred on a culture that supports and encourages mothers to express their milk at work,” Dr. Bernard maintained.