What does your employer have to provide

[Cannotbelieveit]

If you are still ebf when you return to work?

Somewhere to express/keep milk refrigerated?

Anything else?

DS2 will only be 9 months when I return. I need to get some factual stuff together for my area manager as she seems clueless and like she's trying to fob me off, saying it depends on the store I go back to work in?

"You should let your employer know in writing if you are planning to breastfeed when you return to work. Ideally you should do this before you return so that your employer has time to plan.

Your employer must carry out a risk assessment to identify risks to you as a breastfeeding mother or to your baby. If there are risks they must do all that is reasonable to remove the risks or make alternative arrangements for you. Your employer must also provide suitable rest facilities.

Although there is no legal requirement, employers are encouraged to provide a private, healthy and safe environment for nursing mothers to express and store milk." www.nidirect.gov.uk/statutory-maternity-leave-returning-to-work

Here is a leaflet that might be useful www.nhs.uk/Planners/breastfeeding/Documents/breastfeedingandwork[1].pdf

Thanks Boo I'm not due back til mid February but just contacted my area manager (who is new to the role but not the company - which is part of a massive corporation if that makes any difference) to give her adequate time to sort things!

My employer provided a spare office to pump in, or if that wasn't available I could use the First Aid room. The employer shouldn't expect you to pump in the toilets.

I used to break my lunch hour into 2 x 20 minute slots and pump at 11.00 a.m., 1.00 p.m. and 4.00 p.m.

A fridge is also useful, though you may end up having to share the tea/coffe/milk fridge! It might help to keep your bottles inside one of those thermal pouches before you put it in the fridge.

It might be worth reminding your employer that statistically you are less likely to need time off for a sick child so it is to their benefit to help you out.

No requirement to provide breaks, storage or much of anything. A risk assessment may happen. Mums have the right to 'request' flexibility. Just to request.

The bf organisations and Maternity Action are desperately trying to get the government to look at this especially as shared parental leave comes on in April 2015 and mums could go back to work from 6 weeks. It's an appalling situation.

ACAS explains the law and what nice employers could do:
m.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=4703

Thanks for the replies. I'm hoping because they are a massive Corp who try to be family friendly they will still try to do the things mentioned even if not required to by law. I've worked for them for a long time so I would like to think they value loyalty and long service but who knows?!

Mums can currently go back to work after two weeks.

Where is the statistical evidence that people need less time off work to deal with a sick child they express at work?

Op I Think It would be helpful,if you could be specific as to what your needs are e.g I need to be able to take more frequent breaks so I can express, I need a private comfortable space to express, I need access to a fridge.

If you get a positive experience, please considering sharing it with this project so others can be eductated:

abm.me.uk/good-practice-managing-pregnancy-maternity-breastfeeding-workplace/

Heels I've stated what I need in my email to work so they know what I need it's just whether it can be accommodated and if they will.

I will fill in my flexible working request closer to the time I'm due back I think

Tamba I will do

heels99 the NHS website states that breastfed babies, in general, are less likely to suffer from D&V type illnesses, and also less prone to ear infections, etc.

Of course there will always be exceptions to this, before we get a post saying "I breastfed and my baby was sick" or "I formula fed and my baby was never sick"

I expressed at work and it was fine.

I had a thermal lunch box type bag to store the milk and pump bits in which zipped up. I just used any room that was free to expressing in my breaks.

I was dreading it but people were surprisingly supportive.

Worldgonecrazy, while there may be statistical evidence that suggests breastfed babies have less illness, it's a big jump to apply this to express fed babies, as much if the d&v could be attributed to sterilisation technique/ failure which would apply to expressed milk too I would think. Also, the baby will be nearly 1 and most if the studies look at much younger babies.

I have to scald my milk before freezing if it isn't being used immediately so I'm probably buggered anyway!!

caramelkate most mums who express at work continue to breastfeed whilst at home, therefore the benefits of breastfeeding continue.

WHO studies actually look at breastfeeding for much longer periods, which is why WHO recommend breastfeeding until the age of 2.

I am not suggesting this is the only reason that employers should be supportive of mums who want to express whilst at work, but it is another supporting argument for doing so.

Worldgonecrazy, my point is that d&v is associated with sterilising and using bottles, so mixed feeding ups the likelihood of d&v. You just have to be careful about making assumptions from research without actual evidence. The studies are so small anyway that their statistical significance is tenuous - when there are only 91 babies in a sample it only takes a couple if either group to skew results. I used to work in medical research and in our study ( not a bf study but looking at medical appointments in the first year) d&v was massively correlated with having a toddler sibling, and we found no correlation between feeding method and illness at all. Anyway I'm going off at a tangent, but it's interesting, and hopefully the research will improve in quality as more people breastfeed for longer, so samples can be bigger and more meaningful.

It doesn't really matter but I'm not mix feeding or even going to be using the expressed milk. I will have to express for comfort

I would be wary of claiming I would need less time off work for baby illness, if baby gets ill you would feel like a lemon