INC Baby Feeding Program

Background

As many mothers return to work before their baby is six months old and around 40 per cent when their baby is aged one, the workplace has an important role to play in encouraging and assisting mothers to breastfeed their babies. Many women would like to continue to breastfeed their baby at work but are unable to do so as their workplaces do not have suitable areas for the purpose.

The Baby Feeding Programme (BFP) is a self assessment industry programme which provides employers with the opportunity to support best practice infant nutrition in the workplace. The Programme supports employees who wish to return to work and maintain a breastfeeding relationship with their child by breastfeeding, or expressing breast milk for their baby in the workplace. If an employee has made the decision to formula feed their baby, appropriate support should also be made available to these employees.

By supporting employees to feed their baby at work, companies not only assist in increasing the nutritional benefits to the baby but provide benefits to the business, for example, reduced absenteeism, increased productivity and better employee engagement.

Helpful Resources

Develop your own Workplace breastfeeding policy

Supports employees who wish to return to work and maintain a breastfeeding relationship with their child by breastfeeding or expressing breast milk in the workplace.

Baby feeding programme self-assessment checklist

Have you an approved Workplace Breastfeeding Policy to support breastfeeding or expressing breast milk?

Support for breastfeeding Australian Breastfeeding Association

Visit external website

Breastfeeding policy

INC Breastfeeding policy

The INC Board has adopted a Breastfeeding Policy which commits the Infant Nutrition Council and its members to include strategies and activities in their annual strategic planning that support, promote and protect breastfeeding. INC believes in making its members’ workplaces breastfeeding friendly, and more broadly, believes in enabling parents to become fully informed and confident to ensure healthy and optimal infant nutrition.