The Nassau County Department of Health has opened a lactation center, a private room for milk expression, as part of its effort to assist new mothers who are returning to work and wish to continue to breastfeed.
The County worked with the Long Island affiliate of the U.S. Lactation Consultant Association (LILCA) to create this secure, safe and clean environment located at 106 Charles Lindbergh Boulevard, Uniondale, NY. Funding was provided by The New York Statewide Breastfeeding Coalition.
The County recognizes that mothers are the fastest growing segment of the U.S. workforce (according to the U.S. Dept. of Labor) and that supporting breastfeeding is a “WIN-WIN” for the County and its employees.
Numerous studies have shown that breastfeeding lowers the risk of infections and illnesses in infants and children, resulting in lower employee absenteeism rates. Mothers benefit from a faster recovery from pregnancy and childbirth and the satisfaction of knowing she is giving her baby the best start in life possible.
Milk can be expressed during breaks and lunch period. Typically, an employee would require two 15-20 minute breaks (plus time to go to the site) during an 8-hour workday. This expressed milk is then refrigerated and taken home to be bottle fed to the baby at a later time.
Mothers continue to nurse their baby before and after work and on weekends and days off.
One of the first new mothers to use the center said “I’m so glad to be working for an organization that values working mothers and provides
us with such a wonderful facility.”
For more information on the center, please contact Tricia Femminella at (516)227-9460.