World Breastfeeding Week 2017: 51 percent of mothers quit jobs in Maharashtra due to lack of breastfeeding support

Lack of special pumping rooms is one reason why they quit their jobs.

We all have one or two women in our friend s list who have given up their jobs after pregnancy. The reason might not always be the obvious she wants to be a hands-on-mother. Sometimes it is the lack of support that forces her to quit her career mid-way. I am not talking about family support to encourage a woman to continue with her work post delivery. We are talking support during breastfeeding. Not just by being receptive towards the idea but also by creating enough facilities and providing enough amenities that can help a working mother continue breastfeeding even after she gets back to work. Here is why every working mother should practice guilt-free parenting.

Unfortunately, in today s world where we talk so much about gender equality, creating equal opportunities in the workplace for both sexes, we fail to provide working mothers with good facilities at the workplace that can help them attain work-life balance. So, many give up their careers for the sake of their child. Both in India and abroad, corporate work culture has always been indifferent towards the needs of a new mother.

The recent Medela Breastfeeding Survey 2017 shows that 51 percent of mothers from Maharashtra quit their jobs to breastfeed their babies. According to WHO, mothers should ideally breastfeed their babies for the first six months and then continue for two years or above depending on the child and the mother's convenience.

The lactation phase is the fourth trimester of pregnancy and holds an essential role for a mother and her baby. The Medela survey results highlight that a large number of women from across cities feel that corporate workplaces in India lack adequate breastfeeding facilities. There is an urgent need for corporate companies to ensure that there are enough support and facilities for new mothers to breastfeed their babies and contribute to the larger cause of building a healthier future.

A mother who can clock in work hours and simultaneously nurse her baby through the support of family and workplace facilities will usually feel a greater sense of self-worth and satisfaction. She may be exhausted juggling both, but it will help her balance her lifestyle and emotions to give her best of both worlds rather than feel she is compromising on one, says Vidhi Beri, CAPPA Certified Lactation Educator, Child Nutrition Counsellor, and Maternity Wellness Specialist. This also helps in lowering incidences of postpartum depression which affects every mom one way or the other.

What working mothers need the most?

Organizations need to pay particular attention to help mothers continue breastfeeding even after returning to work. Here are a few things companies can do to ensure the same:

1. Have special arrangements for pumping milk
2. Keep breast pumps at the office to help new mothers to continue pumping during breaks. So they don't have to carry their entire kit to the office every day.
3. A refrigerator or cold storage for storing expressed milk at work.
4. Offering flexible work timings or work from home options, sharing her workload, and also give free lactation support through lactation consultants or doctors on queries during their motherhood journey would be a huge relief for the mothers.

We hope that it isn t too long when mothers get such kind of help from the employers so they continue working beyond the maternity leave and can achieve a work-life balance.

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