The 2015 theme on working women and breastfeeding revisits the 1993 campaign on the Mother-Friendly Workplace initiative. Much has been achieved in 22 years of global action supporting women in combining breastfeeding and work, particularly the adoption of the revised ILO Convention 183 on Maternity Protection with much stronger maternity entitlements and more country actions on improving national laws and practices.
"If mothers are breastfeeding or expressing milk at work their babies are less likely to get sick. This means less absenteeism and increased productivity and morale, as employees know their rights are respected," says Irene Labuschagne, a dietitian at the Nutritional Information Centre at Stellenbosch University (NICUS). She says that breastfeeding breaks at work should be completely normal and acceptable.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends exclusive breastfeeding until six months of age and continued breastfeeding for two years, together with the timely introduction of adequate amounts of safe and suitable complementary foods.
Labuschagne explains that breastfeeding alone is estimated to prevent 13% of under-five child deaths in low and middle-income countries across the world. "The promotion of exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life is estimated to be the most effective measure to save infants from morbidity and mortality in low-income settings."
New research constantly reveals that in order for infants and their mothers to achieve optimal health, the conditions have to be created that allow women to practice their right of exclusive breastfeeding for about four to six months and to continue breastfeeding, while providing adequate complementary foods, up to two years of age and beyond.
The Code of Good Practice forms part of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act of 1997 issued in pursuance of section 26 of Basic Conditions of Employment Act (1997). This prohibits employment of pregnant and breastfeeding women workers in hazardous work and requires that arrangements should be made for workers who are breastfeeding to have breaks of 30 minutes twice per day for breastfeeding or expressing milk each working day for the first six months of the child's life. Expressing milk during work hours is vital to ensure a mothers' milk supply does not diminish and will provide the bottled breastmilk needed for a caregiver to feed a baby the following day.
"Breast milk is the best food for infants. It provides a nutritionally balanced food for infants and acts in the same way as immunisation, reducing the risk for certain diseases, such as diseases of the gastro-intestinal tract (including diarrhoea), respiratory tract infections (including pneumonia), ear infections such as otitis media and urinary tract infections," concludes Labuschagne.
