Supporting Employee Lactation: Do U.S. Workplace Lactation Benefit Mandates Align with Evidence-Based Practice?

Authors

Candice L. Thomas, Saint Louis University Department of PsychologyFollow
Lauren D. Murphy
Drake Van Egdom
Haley R. Cobb

Document Type

Symposium Article

Abstract

Within the United States, there are governmental benefits and policies in place to support breastfeeding mothers as they return to work. However, the effectiveness and inclusiveness of these policies is not always clear. Because of this, breastfeeding at work, in general, and governmental workplace mandates, specifically, often receive negative press and social media attention as women struggle to reconcile their workplace and lactation demands. To provide evidence-based recommendations for how to best support breastfeeding employees, we use an organizational science perspective to review the existing research for evidence on the (1) effectiveness of the existing legal benefits and supports within the US, and (2) barriers or facilitators that impact benefit success. Through this, we identify areas for improvement and provide suggestions for policy.

Recommended Citation

Candice L. Thomas, Lauren D. Murphy, Drake Van Egdom & Haley R. Cobb, Supporting Employee Lactation: Do U.S. Workplace Lactation Benefit Mandates Align with Evidence-Based Practice?, 14 St. Louis U. J. Health L. & Pol'y (2020).
Available at: https://scholarship.law.slu.edu/jhlp/vol14/iss1/7