The 2016 Lancet Breastfeeding Series presents compelling evidence that investing in breastfeeding is the most effective single intervention in reducing child mortality.  Breast milk contains a potent mix of vitamins, minerals, nutrients and antibodies specifically tailored to meet an infant’s changing nutritional needs. It aids digestion, strengthens immunity and helps protect the baby from infections such as diarrhoea, pneumonia, asthma and allergies. These protective effects extend into adulthood reducing the risk of chronic health conditions such as diabetes, overweight and obesity.  In addition, breastfeeding protects women’s health promoting healing after birth, burning calories, and reducing the risk of breast and ovarian cancer.

Exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months is also a smart investment in children’s education as it is associated with higher IQ and academic performance and economic productivity.  And it provides a foundation for healthy relationships by promoting early attachment and responsive caregiving, reducing stress and strengthening the bond between mother and child in the critical first 1000 days of life.

Last but not least, it makes good business sense – helping to promote gender equality, reduce absenteeism (as breastfed babies are less likely to get sick than those receiving formula), and improve staff loyalty, productivity and retention. In other words, breastfeeding is good for mom, good for baby and good for business.  

In addition, the promotion of breastfeeding in the workplace helps advance progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals. It ensures healthy lives and promotes wellbeing (SDG 3), promotes economic growth, productive employment and decent work (SDG 8), and empowers women and promotes gender equality (SDG 5).

Yet very few mothers in South Africa exclusively breastfeed for the first 6 months of life as recommended by the World Health Organisation – with only 1 in 4 babies exclusively breastfed by the time they are 4 – 5 months old.  And these low exclusive breastfeeding rates contribute to the high prevalence of malnutrition, diarrhoea, pneumonia and under-five mortality in South Africa. 

While the number of women taking maternity leave at UCT is relatively small – in the region of 60 – 100 mothers per year – women make up 60% of UCT’s workforce, so it is in the interests of both staff and students – and their children - to create a more breastfeeding-friendly university.  

So what can UCT do to facilitate exclusive and extended breastfeeding and help mothers give their children the best possible start in life? The two most precious ingredients are time and privacy.

There are a number of laws and policies in place designed to support breastfeeding women in the workplace, but implementation remains poor. For example, the Basic Conditions of Employment Act guarantees women four months unpaid maternity leave, and many mothers return to work even earlier to earn an income. While the stress of returning to work and trying to express milk during working hours can diminish the mother’s milk supply placing additional strain on both mother and baby. For this reason, the World Health Organisation has called for a mandatory 6 months paid maternity leave and additional support to enable all women to continue breastfeeding in the workplace.

For example, the South African Code of Good Practice on the Protection of Employees during Pregnancy and after the Birth of a Child stipulates that employers should make arrangements for employees to have two 30-minute breaks a day (in addition to lunch or tea breaks) to breastfeed or express milk for the first six months of their child’s life.  Yet most women – and their employers – are unaware of the Code and their legal entitlements.  And without breastfeeding breaks, women are forced to choose between keeping their job or breastfeeding their baby.

Working women who choose to breastfeed also face additional challenges. Chief among these is a place where mothers can safely and comfortably express breastmilk during working hours. Instead many women in search of privacy find themselves hiding away in toilets and broom cupboards in order to express milk, and face the embarrassment of their colleagues, male and female, walking in on them when they are at their most vulnerable. This is a violation of women’s rights to dignity and privacy, and their children’s rights to health and optimal nutrition.

The Advocacy Committee in the Department of Paediatrics and Child Health is therefore delighted to announce the opening of a breastfeeding room for staff at Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital. Thanks to the combined efforts of hospital management and the Children’s Hospital Trust, the two rooms now provide a space for all women working at the hospital to breastfeed or express milk – with comfortable chairs, a kettle, sink and fridge to enable mothers to clean equipment and store milk safely.  The breastfeeding room at Red Cross follows similar initiatives at Groote Schuur Hospital, Mowbray Maternity Hospital, Somerset Hospital, and the School of Public Health and Family Medicine. We hope that these “points of light” will inspire other health care facilities and university departments – to actively support working mothers and ensure that women have the time, space and privacy they need to continue breastfeeding.

Support breastfeeding women in the workplace

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