The 1st to the 7th October 2023 is National Breastfeeding Week. The Breastfeeding Friendly Waterford Interagency Working Group would like to invite you to the launch event of the National Healthy Ireland We’re Breastfeeding Friendly Framework on Wednesday the 4th October.
We're Breastfeeding Friendly Waterford is a Well Waterford initiative, lead out by a collaborative working group (Cuidiu, Healthy Waterford, HSE Lactation Specialists (UHW & Community), Waterford Libraries, Slaintecare Healthy Communities - Waterford City and County Council, Autism Friendly Waterford, Waterford CYPSC).
This initiative aims to help improve the health and wellbeing of breastfeeding parents, babies and their families through the development and promotion of breastfeeding friendly businesses, organisations, communities and places of work. We’re Breastfeeding Friendly offers a framework to employers to support breastfeeding parents to return to work.
This is a Healthy Ireland National Frame work which was designed and piloted in Limerick in 2019. Waterford will join Limerick, Laois, Claire, Sligo and Mayo in becoming a Breastfeeding Friendly County. However, Waterford is the first County to roll out the framework as amended by the Waterford interagency working group.
The Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions, Act 2023 (the "Act") was signed into law by President Michael D. Higgins on 4 April 2023. The act extends the entitlement to breastfeeding breaks from 26 weeks to 104 weeks for parents who are returning to work. The breastfeeding entitlement as per the act is one hour per working day- this hour can be broken into 3x 20 minutes breaks. The launch of this revised initiative in Waterford supports this legislation and supports the positive experiences for future breastfeeding parents in their communities, public spaces and places of work.
We would love to have Waterford City and County businesses and employers attend on the day and would invite any business or employer who would like to sign up in advance of the launch to please get in contact with Brianna Connaughton at 087 4339 143 or brianna.connaughton@hse.ie
