BUCYRUS—Just in time for the upcoming bratwurst festival, the city of Bucyrus has opened a lactation room adjacent to council chambers for nursing mothers.
Deanna Grube, who obtained her Bachelor of Science in nutrition from Ashland University and has spent twenty years as a lactation consultant with the Crawford County WIC program, said that last fall, the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) contacted her and said that they were working on a grant that would allow for a lactation space for women in the county.
Crawford County was chosen for the grant because of the twenty percent breastfeeding continuation rate when women return to work. In Crawford County, about sixty-two percent of mothers begin breastfeeding, but once they hit the six-to-twelve-week mark, a lot give it up once they go back to work.
“Many times, it is because moms don’t want to bring up that uncomfortable conversation, so they want to make it easier and just stop breastfeeding because they are worried about their job. They are worried about the employer thinking they are trying to get away with something, taking time off the clock,” Grube said.
According to Grube, a breastfeeding mother needs to pump every three hours, which can coincide with breaks and lunch.
“There are moms who don’t really get a ten-minute break. Some employers will just say, ‘We know you are breastfeeding; we’ll give that to you.’ There are some that work it out with PTO, vacation, or mom will come in early/stay late to try and make up for that time shift. The important thing to recognize is that if a mom is breastfeeding, and she doesn’t express her milk when she is away from the baby, then it can cause major problems – the final one being mastitis,” Grube said.
Grube states that while yes, things may not flow as easily at work while the mother is away, it’s much better for her to do so because at least she’s there, her baby is healthy, she isn’t calling off, she’ll have a higher morale, and the retention rate will be lower. But aside from all that, it’s the law that women be allowed to pump.
In accordance with the Break Time for Nursing Mothers Act, a nursing mother must be provided with a place other than a bathroom that is free from intrusion, has a door that locks, has a flat surface to set the pump, has an electrical outlet, and a chair that is sanitized and they provide sanitizer and wipes. But this only applies to women who are paid hourly wages. The Pump Act, which has not officially been passed yet, would allow salaried women to remain in the workplace in a way that is beneficial to both employers and workers.
In order for Grube and Crawford County to receive this grant, she had to go around and talk to at least twenty-five employers and see if they were willing to do one of three things:
- Create a lactation room.
- Create a lactation policy.
- Communicate a plan that states to the mother before they leave for maternity leave that they have a safe place to go when they get back to work or do all three.
When it came time to find a place, Reser was more than willing to cooperate, “I approached the mayor because he is so supportive of breastfeeding, and I didn’t know if there was a place here for employees to express while they were at work, so I simply made a phone call, and he said, ‘no, there really isn’t, but there needs to be.’” Grube said.
The room that Reser suggested is adjacent to council chambers and offers a locked door, a lactation chair, a microwave, and a bathroom for mothers to use to clean their pumps.
“It was me just giving him a call and him being willing to put a thinking cap on, and of course, I came to the council meeting, and they unanimously approved this room as a lactation room. What I was really thrilled about was my thought for the room was for employees, but Mayor Reser had bigger thoughts, and he wanted this not just to be utilized by employees, but to be open to the public because this is a community place, and I really appreciated that,” Grube said.
So why is breastfeeding important enough to create a need for a safe space for mothers who wish to continue breastfeeding?
According to Grube, breastfeeding has many benefits for the baby, including a decrease in allergies, asthma, bronchitis, and respiratory issues; studies show that it also leads to better cognitive development and high IQs.
“A mother’s milk is designed specifically for her baby to help keep it healthy. So, if a mother tests positive for COVID, she needs to breastfeed to pass on those antibodies to her baby,” Grube said.
Aside from the many health benefits to the baby, studies show that for mothers, breastfeeding lowers the risk of breast, uterine, and ovarian cancers, lessens postpartum bleeding, quickens weight loss, and lessens time missed from school or work.
“Every dollar that is spent on lactation is a threefold return,” Grube said.
If a business already has a lactation policy in place, Grube suggests looking over the policy to see if it’s really protecting the mother when she comes back to work or if it has loopholes in it.
Employers can go to the ODH website and see the workplace support toolkit for supporting lactation rooms and policies for women.
If anyone is interested in any information on the matter, they can contact Kathy Bushey, the WIC director with the health department, who will take down the information and pass it on to Grube to contact them.
“Supporting breastfeeding can really be a change factor in not only your employees, but your community at large, and it’s something that is a natural process that moms should be supported with,” Grube said.
The normal hours for the lactation room will be Monday through Friday from 8-5, festival hours are 8-8, and during the festival, the library will be open 9-6 to allow mothers to pump but will be closed on Saturday.