Repost: August is Breastfeeding Awareness Month

Our partners at the Virginia Department of Health have a great blog post about how August is Breastfeeding Awareness Month. You can read the full blogpost here. An excerpt is pasted below:

This year, the theme of World Breastfeeding Week – the first week of August – is “Making a Difference for Working Parents.” Challenges at work can mean that women never breastfeed or stop breastfeeding earlier than is recommended, according to the U.S. Breastfeeding Committee. Women with less than 3 months of maternity leave also reported that they stopped breastfeeding earlier than women with 3 or more months of leave.

The Virginia Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, passed in 2020, requires employers to make reasonable accommodations for lactating workers, including more frequent breaks to express breast milk and access to a private area for that purpose.