Under recommendations to promote breastfeeding at home and in the workplace, employers would have to allow time for staff to breastfeed their newborns without losing pay. Under the new proposals, breastfeeding facilities would also have to be provided within the workplace.
The proposals – made by MPs, experts and peers on the All-Party Group on a Fit and Healthy Childhood – were made amid concerns over Britain’s low rate of breastfeeding, with a third of women recently admitting to never having tried nursing.
While business leaders were critical of the proposals, the group said that without providing legal provision for breastfeeding at work, the likelihood is that mothers will be turned off the option of breastfeeding.
If the proposals are introduced, they will follow a similar pattern to those in Norway, where female staff are entitled to paid breaks up to two hours a day for breastfeeding.
This sounds like it will not only encourage breastfeeding, but it will make life much easier for nursing mothers throughout the country.
What are your thoughts on the proposal?
