Visit the Mother-Friendly Worksite website.
What’s a Mother-Friendly Worksite?
Texas law assigned the Department of State Health Services the duty to designate Texas businesses as Mother Friendly if they voluntarily have a written policy to support employed mothers by doing the following:
- Offer flexible work schedules to provide time for expression of milk
- Provide an accessible location allowing privacy
- Provide access to a nearby clean and safe water source and a sink for washing hands and rinsing out any breast-pump equipment
- Provide access to hygienic storage alternatives for the mother to store her breastmilk
Many companies offer additional benefits. The practical aspect of becoming Mother Friendly is that a business can customize Mother Friendly benefits to meet the company's and employed mothers' needs. Texas businesses can apply to be designated as Mother Friendly by completing the Mother-Friendly Business Application.
Texas Statutes
Health & Safety Code Title 2.
Chapter 165. Breast Feeding
SUBCHAPTER A. BREAST-FEEDING RIGHTS AND POLICIES
Sec. 165.001. LEGISLATIVE FINDING. The legislature finds that breast-feeding a baby is an important and basic act of nurture that must be encouraged in the interests of maternal and child health and family values. In compliance with the breast-feeding promotion program established under the federal Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. Section 1771 et seq.), the legislature recognizes breast-feeding as the best method of infant nutrition.
Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., Ch. 600, SS1, eff. Aug . 28, 1995.
Sec. 165.002. RIGHT TO BREAST-FEED. A mother is entitled to breast-feed her baby in any location in which the mother is authorized to be.
Sec. 165.003. BUSINESS DESIGNATION AS "MOTHER-FRIENDLY."
(A) A business may use the designation "mother-friendly" in its promotional materials if the business develops a policy supporting the practice of worksite breast-feeding that addresses the following:
- work schedule flexibility, including scheduling breaks and work patterns to provide time for expression of milk;
- the provision of accessible locations allowing privacy;
- access nearby to a clean, safe water source and a sink for washing hands and rinsing out any needed breast-pumping equipment; and
- access to hygienic storage alternatives in the workplace for the mother's breast milk.
(B) The business shall submit its breast-feeding policy to the department. The department shall maintain a list of "mother-friendly" businesses covered under this section and shall make the list available for public inspection.
Sec. 165.004. SERVICES PROVIDED BY STATE AGENCIES. Any state agency that administers a program providing maternal or child health services shall provide information that encourages breast-feeding to program participants who are pregnant women or mothers with infants.
SUBCHAPTER B. DEMONSTRATION PROJECT
Sec. 165.031. LEGISLATIVE RECOGNITION. The legislature recognizes a mother's responsibility to both her job and her child when she returns to work and acknowledges that a woman's choice to breast-feed benefits the family, the employer, and society.
Sec. 165.032. DEMONSTRATION PROJECT.
(A) The department shall establish a demonstration project in Travis County to provide access to worksite breast-feeding for department employees who are mothers with infants.
(B) The department shall administer the demonstration project and shall determine the benefits of, potential barriers to, and potential costs of implementing worksite breast-feeding support policies for state employees.
Sec. 165.033. BREAST-FEEDING POLICY. The department shall develop recommendations supporting the practice of worksite breast-feeding that address the following:
- work schedule flexibility, including scheduling breaks and work patterns to provide time for expression of milk;
- the provision of accessible locations allowing privacy;
- access nearby to a clean, safe water source and a sink for washing hands and rinsing out any needed breast-pumping equipment; and
- access to hygienic storage alternatives in the workplace for the mother's breast milk.
Sec. 165.034. REPORT TO GOVERNOR AND LEGISLATURE. The department, if requested by the governor or any member of the legislature, shall submit a report on the demonstration project to the governor or that member of the legislature not later than February 1, 1997. The report must include:
- A description of the policies developed;
- A description of the implementation of the policies in Travis County and any problems encountered;
- The extent of use of any breast-feeding or breast-pumping facilities by department employees;
- A survey to assess the level of satisfaction with the breast-feeding or breast-pumping facilities and the policies by users and their supervisors;
- The costs and benefits associated with the demonstration project;
- A summary of issues raised by employees; and
- A recommendation of any changes necessary for statewide implementation and strategies for implementing the policies in other state agencies.
Application to become a Texas Mother Friendly Worksite
Please complete the Texas Mother Friendly Worksite online application. If you have a question, or want to request technical assistance in starting an on-site lactation-support program, contact Julie Stagg.
Julie Stagg, MSN, RN
Nurse Consultant
Health Research and Program Development Unit
Office of Title V and Family Health Services
Department of State Health Services
1100 West 49th Street Austin, TX 78756
Phone: (512) 458-7111, ext. 6917
fax: (512) 458-7443
Breastfeeding support materials for employers and employed mothers
DSHS has fact sheets, brochures, posters, a door hanger, and more materials for employers and their employed mothers. To order these materials, visit the Texas WIC Catalog.
Potential benefits of being a Mother Friendly Worksite include:
- Reduced turnover
- Shorter maternity leave
- Lower absenteeism due to a sick child
- Higher morale among employees
- Increased productivity among employees with new children
- Enhanced loyalty among employees
- Enticing recruitment incentive
- Improved positive image in the community
- Lower and fewer health-insurance claims
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