The federal government has been beefing up its benefits for nursing mothers recently with the passage of a new law regarding lactation rooms, and now the Air Force is getting on board as well.
The Air Force recently announced a new lactation policy to benefit nursing mothers. Similar to the terms of the The Fairness for Breastfeeding Mothers Act (H.R. 866), the policy would require a “private, secure (lockable from the inside) and sanitary location for the purpose of breastfeeding and/or expressing breast milk.”
In addition, the lactation room “should be a comfortable and welcoming place for nursing mothers” and also must be “located in the immediate vicinity of the workplace and will include a table, a place to sit, electrical outlets and have comfortable temperatures and adequate lighting. The rooms are also required to be near a source of hot and cold water for handwashing and sanitizing breast pumps and parts.”
Finally, the Air Force’s new policy mandates that supervisors must provide lactation breaks to nursing mothers. According to AFI 44-102, Medical Care Management, this amounts to 15-30 minutes every 3-4 hours to pump breast milk.
