BREASTFEEDING PROMOTION & SUPPORT WPPM # 600-30 Subject: Breastfeeding Friendly Environment Item: Agency Environment and Employee Support

PURPOSE: Provides information on creating an environment that supports breastfeeding. POLICY: I. The local agency (LA) must establish a breastfeeding friendly environment for participants and employees. PROCEDURE(S): I. Site Environment A. The LA site environment must: 1. Include a display of the WIC Program’s Breastfeeding Vision Statement in areas visible to employees and participants. 2. Visibly represent breastfeeding as the normal way to feed infants through the use of posters and/or other visuals in the sites. 3. Refrain from displaying or providing magazines, books, educational materials, or incentive items that promote or market formula to participants. 4. Ensure formula, formula materials, formula logos, bottles, and pacifiers are not in view except when being used as a teaching aid. 5. Make a reasonable effort to provide a private area at each site for participants to receive help with breastfeeding or to breastfeed privately if requested. II. Management A. LA management must: 1. Have a written breastfeeding policy and routinely communicate the policy to all staff. 2. Annually evaluate progress toward meeting their Nutrition Services Plan (NSP) goals related to breastfeeding rates. 3. Include breastfeeding promotion and support in employee job descriptions and duty statements. III. Front-Line Staff A. LA staff must: 1. Support participants breastfeeding in the clinic. 2. Encourage mother-to-mother breastfeeding support. 3. Identify and refer participants to appropriate breastfeeding resources. Revised California WIC Policy and Procedure Manual Page 1 of 3 March 7, 2013

BREASTFEEDING PROMOTION & SUPPORT WPPM # 600-30 Subject: Breastfeeding Friendly Environment Item: Agency Environment and Employee Support

Revised California WIC Policy and Procedure Manual Page 2 of 3 March 7, 2013 IV. Employee Support A. The LA must support breastfeeding employees and: 1. Provide a reasonable amount of break time for employees to express breast milk or breastfeed. 2. Make a reasonable effort to provide breastfeeding employees with the use of a private, clean, and comfortable area in close proximity to the employee’s work area for expressing milk. This room should have a locking door, a comfortable chair, an electrical outlet and hospital grade breast pump. A sink and small refrigerator should be available in the room or nearby. 3. Allow the loan of a multi-user breast pump to a WIC employee if the employee is also a WIC participant who has a need and the pump is issued by her supervisor. 4. Allow breastfeeding employees to use an available multi-user breast pump during working hours, if the pump is also used for participant education and/or breastfeeding support. 5. Not allow employees to issue a breast pump to themselves or relatives. Other LA staff may assist the employee’s relatives with any pump issuance. 6. Inform all new employees at orientation of breastfeeding support available for employees. 7. Inform pregnant employees of policies, facilities, information, and resources to support breastfeeding. 8. Offer breastfeeding support to employees in the early postpartum period. GUIDELINE(S): I. Provide alternative work schedules such as part-time employment, job sharing, flex schedules, and/or a gradual return to work so breastfeeding employees experience less disruption to the breastfeeding process. II. Provide pump kits to employees purchased with non-WIC funds. Pump kits purchased with WIC funds must not be provided to employees, unless the employee is a WIC participant. III. Create on-site support groups for breastfeeding participants and employees. IV. Extend breastfeeding support to employees of the administrative agency. V. Promote childcare facilities in close proximity to WIC employee work sites, funded by employees and/or other non-WIC sources to enable mothers to breastfeed their

BREASTFEEDING PROMOTION & SUPPORT WPPM # 600-30 Subject: Breastfeeding Friendly Environment Item: Agency Environment and Employee Support

Revised California WIC Policy and Procedure Manual Page 3 of 3 March 7, 2013 infants during the workday. In the absence of on-site day care, allow infants to be brought to the workplace during lunch hour and break times to be breastfed. AUTHORITY: 7 CFR §246.11 Nutrition education WIC Nutrition Services Standards: Standard 19B California Labor Code §1030 – 1033 Lactation Accommodation RESOURCE: The International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes, World Health Organization, 1981