With working mothers one of the fastest growing groups in the nation's labor force, UC Davis is making it easier for them to breastfeed on campus.

Paula Driver Shimada, an analyst for Work/Life, Staff Development and Professional Services, says UC Davis now has 19 lactation sites on campus and five at the Medical Center — with three more due to open this fall.

Since 1995, the campus has provided lactation sites on campus where mothers breastfeed their infants in private settings. Each site is equipped with hospital-grade breast pumps.

Shimada says the campus is seeking to include a lactation site as one of the design standards in construction of all new educational and administrative buildings. After all, they have shown their popularity.

Shimada says a total of 31,578 visits to lactation sites have been logged since 1995 — last year witnessed a 64 percent increase over the prior year. The breastfeeding program is growing leaps and bounds, with 95 new moms last year, a 22 percent increase.

Beyond this, the Breastfeeding Support Program — open to all campus affiliates and their spouses and domestic partners — is a clearinghouse for information and ideas.

Moms with infants enrolled at the campus child development centers at LaRue Park and Russell Park can feed their kids there as well, Shimada said. "They are encouraged to visit and breastfeed their babies at any time."

To protect the privacy of the women, she added, the program does not publicize the location of the lactation sites. Once women enroll in the program, they are given the locations.

The campus also holds a brown bag lunch series for expectant and new mothers the third Tuesday of each month from 12:10 - 1:30 p.m. in the Moss Room of the Memorial Union. In addition, lactation specialists are available by phone and e-mail through the Breastfeeding Support Program. And the UC Davis Bookstore sells breastfeeding and pump supplies.

The need is significant. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, about 70 percent of employed women with children work full time. One-third of mothers return to work within three months after having a baby, and two-thirds return to work within six months.

On Aug. 24, the UC Davis Breastfeeding Support Program will receive the "Mother-baby-friendly workplace award" from Yolo County. The idea is to increase awareness among mothers and employers that breastfeeding and work are compatible. The American Academy of Pediatrics calls human breast milk "uniquely superior" to infant formula and suggests that mothers breast-feed exclusively for the first six months of a baby's life.

Breastfeeding at work has received significant support from state laws and policies. Under the law, a mother may breastfeed her child in any location, public or private. Legislative resolutions encourage employers to support the practice of breastfeeding, to accommodate the needs of lactating employees, and to provide facilities for breastfeeding and expressing milk.

Finally, a 2002 law requires all employers to provide a reasonable amount of break time to employees desiring to express breast milk for their infant children.

For more information, see http://www.hr.ucdavis.edu/childcare/bfeed.htm.