Breastfeeding

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. (PDF)