Time off to breastfeed

truthseeker said:
Just on this, why shouldnt you use it if its there for you to use? I mean, if you are genuinely breast feeding (not pretending to!). It was put in place to allow women to use it. Are you suggesting that because some women dont use it, others shouldnt?
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No, what I am suggesting is that people should take what they actually need rather then what they are entitled to. Take what you need, cover yourself but don't take it and use it just because it is there. Do you need to come in an hour late each day for say a year (not sure how long it goes for) in order to feed your child in the morning OR do you want the hour off because it's there for you to take?. Some women may well need the hour each morning but some will not but will take it anyway.
 
ney001 said:
In this case I also think this is a bit cheeky - I know plenty of women who work and breastfeed was well but they pump early morning and leave bottles - its 'll about preparation.
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Here you appear to be suggesting that women dont need the time - they need to be better prepared.

ney001 said:
No, what I am suggesting is that people should take what they actually need rather then what they are entitled to.
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How do you know some women, and in particular the woman the OP referred to, dont need it?
 
ney001 said:
I have no doubt she is entitled to it i'm not questioning that! For me, I would say that after a 10 month maternity leave a good routine could have been established which doesn't involve taking an hour of each morning to breastfeed - yes you are entitled to it, does that mean you should use every single hour of it? I'm not so sure!
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This would be where I'm coming from as well. She is the only person I know of, in a large Govt Dept., who asked for this yet loads of women go on maternity leave every year and breast feed their babies and then come back to work and do normal hours and don't request this hour or two off every morning.

I know it's not the same but I was out of work for several months recently as I had to have major surgery. I'm back in work now and am entitled to claim all the bank holidays that occurred during my time off back. However, I just can't bring myself to do it. It just seems cheeky when I've already caused huge inconvenience by being out for so long and people had to bend over backwards to accommodate that.

Anyway, this thread wasn't started with the intention of criticising working mothers. It was this single issue I was saying seemed a bit of an 'ask' to me, although obviously if she's covered by legislation she is entitled to it.
 
truthseeker said:
Here you appear to be suggesting that women dont need the time - they need to be better prepared.
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Well obviously I cannot speak for all women who breastfeed but yes I do believe that a good routine and preparations could be made in a ten month maternity leave. If the woman (any woman) could be better prepared then I do believe that she should strive for that rather than taking extra time off .

truthseeker said:
How do you know some women, and in particular the woman the OP referred to, dont need it?
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Silly question - obviously I cannot know this as I don't know the woman or the ins and outs of her life but I am not foolish enough to believe that every woman who takes this entitlement is breastfeeding and particularly needs that hour off every day to do it. I would imagine that an extra hour would suit people very well in the mornings particularly if they have other children who they can drop to school etc.
 
Breastfeeding and employment
Under Section 9 of the Maternity Protection (Amendment) Act 2004 certain women in employment who are breastfeeding are entitled to take time off work each day in order to breastfeed. The provision applies to all women in employment who have given birth within the previous 6 months. Employers are not obliged to provide facilities in the workplace to facilitate breastfeeding if the provision of such facilities would give rise to considerable costs. At the choice of her employer, the woman may therefore opt to:

Just noted on this that it says women who have given birth in the previous six months? In this instance the baby is ten months old according to OP so is she actually entitled to this leave?
 
ney001 said:
Well obviously I cannot speak for all women who breastfeed but yes I do believe that a good routine and preparations could be made in a ten month maternity leave. If the woman (any woman) could be better prepared then I do believe that she should strive for that rather than taking extra time off .
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So you think that women should strive to be better prepared. Does that mean that a persons job is more important, or should be more important than their children?
 
ney001 said:
Breastfeeding and employment
Under Section 9 of the Maternity Protection (Amendment) Act 2004 certain women in employment who are breastfeeding are entitled to take time off work each day in order to breastfeed. The provision applies to all women in employment who have given birth within the previous 6 months. Employers are not obliged to provide facilities in the workplace to facilitate breastfeeding if the provision of such facilities would give rise to considerable costs. At the choice of her employer, the woman may therefore opt to:

Just noted on this that it says women who have given birth in the previous six months? In this instance the baby is ten months old according to OP so is she actually entitled to this leave?
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That would actually make sense as six months is the statutory amount of time you are allowed to take off from work to have a baby - so presumably anyone who goes back before then is actually still entitled to be on leave and therefore entitled to take time off to breastfeed.
 
truthseeker said:
So you think that women should strive to be better prepared. Does that mean that a persons job is more important, or should be more important than their children?
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No as I said I just think that people/women should try to be prepared if at all possible. Petty arguments about jobs more important then kids etc don't interest me..... sorry ;)
 
liaconn said:
That would actually make sense as six months is the statutory amount of time you are allowed to take off from work to have a baby - so presumably anyone who goes back before then is actually still entitled to be on leave and therefore entitled to take time off to breastfeed.
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Agreed! this does make sense. Perhaps the person involved has an agreement with management? perhaps not getting paid? either way I don't think she is entitled to it.
 
ney001 said:
Petty arguments about jobs more important then kids etc don't interest me..... sorry ;)
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I dont see whats petty about asking that question when you have stated that in your opinion, women should strive to be better prepared. Are you not prepared to defend your opinion? Or is it that its indefensible ;)
 
ney001 said:
Agreed! this does make sense. Perhaps the person involved has an agreement with management? perhaps not getting paid? either way I don't think she is entitled to it.
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Weird though, breastfeeding.ie seems to think she is:

Maternity leave is currently 26 weeks. Many Irish women return to work from the time their baby is 26 weeks. Some mothers take unpaid leave but will return to paid employment before their baby is 2 years old.

How can I continue to breastfeed?
It helps to plan ahead before you return to work. You will be making arrangements for childcare. Think about the childcare option that suits you, your working hours and your plans to continue to breastfeed. See the section below for points to consider when making childcare arrangements.
Depending on the age of your baby when you return to work you and your baby’s needs will vary. For example a 7 month old baby may still be feeding at regular intervals during the day. A baby who is near to his first birthday may just be feeding in the morning and evening. Feeding patterns will vary from one baby to the next, but older babies will tend to feed less often.
You will also need to consider your needs in relation to your milk supply and how to combine pumping / expressing and work. It is a good idea to start to express milk several weeks before you go back to work. This will help you to have a good milk supply and also ensure that you have a supply of expressed milk ready for your childminder. Taking lactation breaks to express milk will help you to continue to have a good milk supply and have milk for your childminder to give to your baby the next day.
Consider also what arrangement suits you and your baby best and discuss with your manager as soon as possible. For example you may want your baby to be brought to you for breastfeeding breaks. You may wish to have lactation breaks or flexible working arrangements so that you can express milk.
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Talking about 7 month old babies, and 2 year olds? I am confused.
 
And my opinion remains - women should strive to be better prepared, if men were doing the breast feeding i'd say the same thing. As I stated I think 10 months maternity leave is enough time in this instance to get a good routine going that doesn't involve an extra hour off work each day - other workers do it and are obviously better prepared then this woman. It doesn't have anything at all to do with whether you value your job more then your kids.
 
truthseeker said:
Weird though, breastfeeding.ie seems to think she is:



Talking about 7 month old babies, and 2 year olds? I am confused.
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In this instance does the article not just give advice on how to continue to breastfeed/pump i.e practical solutions - it doesn't mention anything about being entitled to do this by taking time off work??
 
ney001 said:
In this instance does the article not just give advice on how to continue to breastfeed/pump i.e practical solutions - it doesn't mention anything about being entitled to do this by taking time off work??
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Oh sorry, its in the 'breastfeeding and work' section. Its a large article, I just quoted a bit.

[broken link removed] is the actual link.

Breastfeeding and work

It is important that mothers are supported to continue to breastfeed when they go back to work. The WHO, Department of Health and HSE recommend that children are exclusively breastfed for 6 months. Thereafter they should continue to breastfeed in
combination with appropriate complementary foods to two years of age and beyond.

The longer you breastfeed, the greater the health protection for your baby and you. The positive impact of breastfeeding shows a dose-response relationship with improved health outcomes associated with longer breastfeeding duration and lasting many years after the cessation of breastfeeding (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2005).

Maternity leave is currently 26 weeks. Many Irish women return to work from the time their baby is 26 weeks. Some mothers take unpaid leave but will return to paid employment before their baby is 2 years old...........
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