For several years, SHRM has worked with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office on Women's Health (OWH) to provide input from SHRM members on educational materials designed for employers on how to best support nursing mothers at work. OWH is now seeking to strengthen these nursing mother resources provided to employers and employees by conducting interviews with employers. Because members may be contacted by LTG Associates, the research firm hired to conduct interviews, SHRM wanted to make HR professionals aware of our partnership with OWH on this project.
Supporting Nursing Moms at Work: Employer Solutions, which is available at www.womenshealth.gov/breastfeeding/employer-solutions, was designed to provide businesses with cost-effective tips and solutions for supporting nursing mothers working in a variety of industry sectors.
The feedback sought is designed to help OWH understand the supports and barriers that employers might encounter in accommodating the needs of nursing mothers to express their milk at work. Their research will also examine supports and barriers for women who continue to breastfeed after returning to work. OWH is reaching out to contacts in a variety of industries including:
- Manufacturing.
- Retail/restaurants.
- Education.
- Health care.
OWH will be interviewing human resource professionals and front-line supervisors from each industry sector, as well as women who work in these industries, to understand their perspectives on this issue. Interviews are expected to be conducted in April and May of 2017; each interview is planned to take less than an hour.
If you receive a call regarding this research, SHRM encourages you to participate if interested.
This research is supported by the Office on Women's Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. OWH point of contact: Ursuline Singleton (ursuline.singleton@hhs.gov).Research Team: LTG Associates Inc., George Washington University, and Every Mother, Inc.! LTG Associates Inc. point of contact: Cathleen Crain, managing partner (partners@ltgassociates.com).