Breast may be best, but while the majority of the public agrees that the Government’s recent proposal to make employers provide private breastfeeding rooms at work is a good idea, many are not convinced that it will be practically possible.
- 68% of people in total are comfortable with the sight of a woman breast-feeding her baby in a public space
- 21% are not
- 52% agree that it is a good idea for employers to provide private breast-feeding rooms for mothers returning to work to encourage ‘breastfeeding-friendly employment policies’
- The majority (58%) disagrees that it would be practical for employers to provide private breast-feeding rooms
- 35% believe it would be practical
Bad for business?
The Government has recently announced plans to introduce legislation that means employers will be obliged to provide private breastfeeding rooms for mothers to encourage ‘breastfeeding-friendly employment policies’.
Health Secretary, Andrew Lansley, said: ‘Breastfeeding is one of the best ways to give babies good health, but our society doesn’t always make it easy for new mum to do it. If we can make easier, more mums would breastfeed and they might do it for longer’.
However, critics have expressed concern that introducing such a regulation during a recession will be impractical as well as bad for businesses, and have suggested that it may simply discourage employers from employing women in the first place.
