Change the law to give breastfeeding mothers paid breaks, parliamentary report says

The law should be changed to give mothers paid breaks to breastfeed and facilities to feed and store milk, an all-party Parliamentary report has said.

The cross party report on healthy childhoods says new mothers need far more support in the workplace, to improve rates of breastfeeding and child health.

But business leaders last night said changes in the law were not the way to tackle the problem, and said employers needed to be encouraged to talk to returning mothers more openly about what help they needed.

The proposals follow controversial EU calls for new mothers to be allowed up to two hours a day to breast feed, which employers said could cost the Government £2.5bn and make it harder for women to succeed in their careers.

British breastfeeding rates are the lowest in the western world, with just half of mothers still nursing at six weeks, official figures show.

The new recommendations, from a working group of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on a Fit and Healthy Childhood say the lack of laws governing breastfeeding mean women are likely to “abandon the struggle” to breastfeed even if it they want to continue nursing after returning to work.

The report does not spell out how the length of breaks, but says amendments should be made to the Equality Act (2010) to ensure paid breaks are mandatory, while every employer should be obliged to have a formal written policy on breastfeeding.

The group also calls for a raft of guidance to be issued, to help parents, employers and schools to improve the health of children.

Parents should be told to ban televisions and mobile devices from their children’s bedrooms, the report says, and given guidance about just how much computer and TV screen time their children should have.

It also calls for a national anti-obesity strategy, new standards to ensure children spend enough time playing, and laws to improve the quality of food supplied in nurseries and other early years’ settings.

The report was written by a working party of her committee, made up of former MPs, academics and health and education professionals.”

APPG chairman Baroness Floella Benjamin of Beckenham, said the report showed that Britain needed to invest in changes to support the early years of childhood.

She said: “Sometimes to save money – you have to spend first. For me, investing in our children isn’t a luxury – it’s a priority and I have dedicated my entire life to it.”

But the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) criticised the proposals, saying the law would not help new mothers or business.

Lena Levy, CBI Head of Labour Market Policy, said: “Businesses want to support nursing mothers on their return to work.

“The best way to do this is for mums to have an open conversation about their needs on returning to work. A legislative approach is not the right solution.”

Helen Clark, former Labour MP and lead author of the report, insisted the changes would make economic sense in the long run, by putting children on the right path for life.

“It’s not rocket science to work out that getting it right for young families from the outset will reap financial rewards,” she said.

“The cost to the Exchequer of failure to invest at that time can incur massive expenditure across the life course and an unwarranted burden on social services, health, education, benefit and the criminal justice system.”