Supporting employee lactation: Do U.S. workplace lactation benefit mandates align with evidence-based practice?

Feeding infants breastmilk (both directly and via pumping) is a pro-health behavior that has well-documented benefits for the mother and child. Although there are many factors that impact a mother’s decision to initiate and continue breastfeeding (e.g., family norms or health constraints), barriers to lactation at work in the postpartum period consistently predict breastfeeding discontinuation. In efforts to support women’s return to work postpartum and their lactation decisions, there are many mandates in the United States across the federal and state levels that provide protection and benefits for working women who are lactating. However, it is currently unclear how these mandates align with best practices of providing support to working mothers identified via organizational research. This Article reviews the federal and state mandates available to understand (1) what benefits/protections are offered, (2) how these benefits align with evidence-based recommendations for supporting lactating women, and (3) where lactating employees are being successfully supported or require additional support.