The Impact of Maternity Leave on Breastfeeding Rates

Strategies for making employment more compatible with breastfeeding have so far focused on workplace accommodations. While this is important, a far more effective approach would be to institute a national paid maternity leave policy.

In 1900, only 19% of women were in the workforce. ¹ Today, the percentage has risen to 54%. By 2009, 43% of American workers were women, ² and 57% of all mothers of infants under 1 year of age were in the workforce. ³

Sixty percent of employed women return to work within a year of delivery. More than half of these return within the first 3 months, and 75% within 6 months. That is a change, considering that in the 1960s only 37% returned to work at all, and of those who did, only 17% had returned by the time the infant celebrated his or her first birthday. ¹

Breastfeeding initiation is not significantly affected by employment status. For example, the 1988 National Maternal and Infant Health Survey found that 54% of employed women initiated breastfeeding, compared to 53% of nonemployed women. ⁴ The exception to this rule is that group of mothers returning to work within 6 weeks of delivery.^4–6 Such a short maternity leave will weigh most heavily on socioeconomically disadvantaged mothers, contributing to a lower rate of breastfeeding initiation within that population. A paid maternity leave policy might go a long way in helping to eliminate this disparity.

Breastfeeding duration, on the other hand, is significantly longer for nonworking than for working mothers. For example, the Infant Feeding Practices Survey found an average duration of 25 weeks for nonworking mothers, as opposed to 16.5 weeks for working mothers. ⁷ The same adverse impact on duration has been noted by others.^4,8–10

The positive effect of maternity leave is substantial. It has been found that the longer the maternity leave, the longer the duration of breastfeeding.^6,10–12 It is notable that, compared to mothers who can take maternity leave, those who cannot take leave are younger and less well educated. ¹ It is also notable that a short maternity leave has a more negative impact on breastfeeding when work is nonmanagerial, the work schedule is inflexible, and the employee is experiencing psychosocial stress. ¹² It follows that breastfeeding duration will be shorter for socioeconomically disadvantaged mothers, and this disparity will likely persist as long as we fail to implement a national paid maternity leave policy.

In order to prevent discrimination against women on the grounds of marriage or maternity and to ensure their effective right to work, States Parties should take appropriate measures … to introduce maternity leave with pay or with comparable social benefits without loss of former employment, seniority, or social allowances.

—United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women

December 18, 1979

The United States is currently one of only four nations that do not have a paid maternity leave policy. The other three are Swaziland, Liberia, and Papua New Guinea. We can do better.