Pregnancy is a stage in which the mother's work must be a safe place for her and her pregnant baby, but so is the period of breastfeeding. The Breastfeeding Committee of the Spanish Association of Pediatrics has prepared a Guide on occupational hazards during breastfeeding which provides some necessary keys to make it possible.
It is a complement to the document created at the time by the INSS on the guidelines for assessing occupational risk during breastfeeding that aims to expand information on how working conditions influence breastfeeding.
It is a particularly sensitive period for both the mother and the baby, in which any obstacle becomes a threat to the duration of breastfeeding. Therefore, three essential aspects must be taken into account: the hours of separation between the mother and the baby (full-time work is related to a reduction in breastfeeding in 8.6 weeks), fatigue, related to lower milk production and provide facilities for women to be able to extract and keep their own milk at work.
The reality is that there are few companies that provide true support to their breastfeeding workers.
The desirable thing would be to adapt schedules, shifts and positions to improve working conditions during the first two years of life, which of course would also be desirable for all mothers, both those who decide to breastfeed and those who decide not to do so.
How well the Guide on occupational hazards during breastfeeding which can be downloaded in pdf format:
"It is everyone's responsibility to ensure that the greatest possible number of women and their sons and daughters can initiate and maintain breastfeeding for as long as possible, contributing to health promotion in general, greater profitability and lower health expenditure. "
