The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment announced last week it will be supplying Boulder County Public Health and the Boulder County Breastfeeding Coalition with a three-year, $420,000 grant to help make Boulder County businesses breast-feeding-friendly.
Although rates for breast-feeding in Boulder County already meet national goals, there’s concern that women with lower incomes are less likely to continue the practice due to limitations at work.
According to Sarah Scully, child health promotion program coordinator at Boulder County Public Health, half of the $140,000-a-year allowance will go toward hiring a project manager to work with partners, and the rest will be used to provide an incentive for businesses to create safe lactation spaces and assist in equipping those rooms.
For the most part, such spaces are used for moms to pump milk for their baby to drink the next day.
“If you’re working a full, eight-hour day, you might have time to pump twice, put the milk in a fridge or cooler and bring it home with you for your child to take to day care the next day,” Scully said.
