Breastfeeding Bill a step towards recognising mothers' care work in the workplace
Breast milk is a natural source of nutrition and sustenance as it helps to strengthen brain power and build up a child’s immune system.
What you need to know:
- The Bill seeks to obligate employers to establish lactation rooms that are private, free of intrusion, have adequate sanitary standards, are secure and equipped with milk storage facilities, appropriate furniture and are adequately staffed.
- It requires employers to provide reasonable breastfeeding breaks and consider the same as official working hours so that working mothers are not penalised for absconding work.
Studies show that women legislators prioritise laws that deal with the family, social issues and gender equality. This brings to mind the Breastfeeding Mothers Bill now in its eighth year in the National Assembly, having been introduced in 2016 by Sabina Chege, and now going through clause-by-clause scrutiny by the whole house.
The Bill seeks to obligate employers to establish lactation rooms that are private, free of intrusion, have adequate sanitary standards, are secure and equipped with milk storage facilities and appropriate furniture as well as adequate staff.
The physical environment should be appropriate for the baby’s “cognitive, emotional, social and linguistic development”.
It further requires employers to provide reasonable breastfeeding breaks and consider the same as official working hours so that working mothers are not penalised for absconding work.
The break is capped at 40 minutes in every four hours worked, which means two of them in a day, except “where circumstances require a baby to be breastfed for a long period” as long as this is certified by a registered medical practitioner.
The Bill also allows mothers to apply for flexible working arrangements. During the World Breastfeeding Week in mid-2023, the government launched a plan to support breastfeeding in the workplace. The components of the plan are a replica of the Bill.
But why is breastfeeding important? According to the World Health Organisation, breastfeeding is critical for child health, survival and development. Breast milk is known to be safe, clean, wholesome and laden with antibodies that provide protection against common childhood illnesses by virtue of which it reduces infant mortality.
The significance of breastmilk is captured in a Gikuyu proverb that “the baby who refuses its mother’s breasts will never be fully grown.” The need to breastfeed ubiquitously is recognised in the Rundi proverb “a mother suckles even on the road.”
The Kenya Demographic and Health Survey 2022 notes that breastfeeding enhances the mother’s health and enhances bonding with the newborn. It is also associated with reduced risks of breast and ovarian cancers, as well as delayed subsequent pregnancy.
In some African communities, breastfeeding mothers were actually required to abstain from sexual intercourse until the infant was weaned. This resulted in child spacing and enabled mothers to recover.
African beliefs
A study titled “A critical look at exclusive breastfeeding in Africa: Through the lens of diffusion of innovation theory” by Olabisi Oyelana, Joyce Kamanzi and Solina Richter, published in a 2021 edition of the International Journal of Africa Nursing Sciences, notes that Africans have a strong belief in the psychological, physical and magical importance of breast milk.
In the Luo community of Kenya, it is believed that breastmilk has medicinal qualities and is a cleanser applied to eyes stained with fiery sap from plants such as the pawpaw.
Besides enabling women to balance work and home, lactation rooms will enable mothers to comply with the recommended six months of exclusive breastfeeding and constantly attend to their children free of anxiety.
This is one way of recognising and rewarding women’s care work. Needless to say, mothers who feel cared for will be more loyal and productive staff, which benefits the economy.
Some reputable companies already have such facilities. This called on the government to lead by example by establishing them in both national and county facilities.
Lactation rooms should also be mandatory in the designs and building of bus and railway stations, matatu termini and airports.
There should also be roadside rest stations along major highways to enable parents to take dignified breaks during which mothers can breastfeed comfortably.
How businesses will respond to this proposed law, should it be enacted, remains to be seen. But it can be predicted that some will consider it an unwelcome cost.
However, the fact that many blue chip companies have adopted the practice suggests that corporate resistance may be mute or minimal. This does not negate the need for sensitisation to its implications. In addition, there will be a need to outline guidelines on the sizes, quality, staffing and safety standards of the rooms.
Because of the vested interests they have in this matter, employers should find it necessary to engage legislators on the eventual contents of the Bill. Hopefully, women’s rights organisations have done so and made their inputs.
But even as prospects of the Bill being presented for enactment are high, one wonders whether it should not have been introduced as an amendment to the Employment Act given that it squarely deals with workers, female ones at that.
It could also be broadened to require parent-friendly spaces so that men caring for infants are also accommodated. Perhaps what we need is a comprehensive Employment and Workplace Bill.
The writer is a lecturer in Gender and Development Studies at South Eastern Kenya University ([email protected]).
