Breastfeeding

Learn about breastfeeding online (after you give birth):

• Your Guide to Breastfeeding
• Breastfeeding and Alcohol
• Hand Expression
• Latching: Positioning and Attachment
• Storing and Handling Breastmilk
  • English Version
  • Spanish Version

Breastfeeding Support: Telephone Resources

• St. Cloud Hospital Breastfeeding Help Line: 
  • Call 320-251-2700 (ext. 52311)
  • Available 7:00am-3:00pm daily, including holidays and weekends
• Breastfeeding Classes:
  • Bravo Baby, Successful Breastfeeding Class
  • Registration is $10.00
  • Register here (type 'breastfeeding' in the search bar)
• CentraCare Health Plaza Clinic, Outpatient Lactation Services:
  • Call 320-654-3610 to schedule an appointment
  • Available 8:30am-4:30pm
  • If you are not a CentraCare patient, meet with a provider first for a patient consult
• National Women's Health Information Center Breastfeeding Help Line:
  • Call 1-800-994-9662 (English and Spanish languages available)
  • Available Monday through Friday, 8:00am-5:00pm CDT
• Infant Risk Center:
  • Call 1-806-352-2519
  • Available Monday through Friday, 8:00am-5:00pm
  • Evidence based information on the use of medications during pregnancy and while breastfeeding
• Benton County WIC Program (Women, Infants, and Children Program)
  • Call 320-968-5156 or email wic@co.benton.mn.us
  • Available Monday through Friday, 8:00am-4:30pm
  • If you are not a WIC participant, you can call the phone number above to see if you are eligible for WIC services, or you can check the WIC website for eligibility requirements here. 
• Benton County Public Health
  • Call 320-968-5087
  • Available Monday through Friday, 8:00am-4:30pm
  • Ask to speak with a Public Health Nurse

Breastfeeding Support: Support Groups

• Baby Café, St. Cloud YMCA
  • Address: 2001 Stockinger Drive, St. Cloud, MN 56303
  • Takes place the second and fourth Tuesday of each month from 9:30am-12:00pm
  • Baby Café Flyer
• MILK: Breastfeeding and Mother Support
  • Eastview Education Center Media Room: 9375 Fenning Avenue, Monticello, MN 55362
  • Takes place the second and fourth Thursday of each month from 4:30pm-6:30pm (drop-in style support group)
  • Cost: FREE

Making breastfeeding possible when returning to work, school, and beyond: 

• Breastfeeding in Public
• How to Keep Your Breast Pump Clean
• Storing and Handling Milk
  • English Version
  • Spanish Version

Anytime, Anywhere Initiative

The Anytime, Anywhere Initiative is being promoted by Benton County Public Health and Minnesota SHIP (Statewide Health Improvement Partnership). We hope to:

• Increase awareness and acceptance of breastfeeding as a healthy and normal part of life
• Give the community visual cues that breastfeeding is encouraged and welcomed
• Increase the number of babies who are breastfed and the length of time they receive breast milk
• Help mothers be more comfortable nursing in public places
• Provide supportive, shame-free environments for nursing in public
• Give mothers the freedom to be away from home for longer periods of time.1

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“PPACA”) was signed into law on March 23, 2010 (P.L. 111-148). It defines the break time requirement for nursing mothers in the workplace.  Employers are required to provide “reasonable break time for an employee to express breast milk for her nursing child for 1 year after the child’s birth each time such employee has need to express the milk.” Employers are also required to provide “a place, other than a bathroom, that is shielded from view and free from intrusion from coworkers and the public, which may be used by an employee to express breast milk.” 2

In Minnesota, nursing mothers have legal protections in the workplace, as well as in public locations such as parks, restaurants, or stores.  Minnesota law allows a mother to breastfeed in any location, public or private, where the mother and child are allowed to be.  A mother may breastfeed her child anywhere even if the nipple or breast is uncovered while breastfeeding.  Breastfeeding in public is not a violation of Minnesota’s indecent exposure laws. 3

Sources:

1. Michigan Breastfeeding Network’s Anytime, Anywhere Campaign
2. “Fact Sheet #73: Break Time for Nursing Mothers under the FLSA,” U.S. Department of Labor.  
3. “Legal Protections for Nursing Mothers in Minnesota,” Public Health Law Center.

We would like to recognize the following organizations and places of business who have taken the Anywhere Anytime Initiative Business Pledge to make their place of business welcoming to and supportive of breastfeeding families!

Benton County Public Health is committed to providing clients and fellow employees with a space where they feel encouraged, supported, and comfortable to breastfeed when at both of our locations (Foley and St. Cloud). These breastfeeding rooms (also referred to as mother's rooms or nursing rooms) are brought to you by Benton County Public Health staff in our Statewide Health Improvement Partnership (SHIP) and Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) programs. 

Benton County Human Services - St. Cloud Location