Providing community support for breastfeeding & chestfeeding
in New Haven

Did you know?

Infants who are breast/chestfed have a lower risk of infections and illnesses. They also have significantly less healthcare costs than those who are not breast/chestfed. 

Breast/chestfeeding has benefits for the parent as well. The longer a person breast/chestfeeds, the less at risk they are for breast cancer, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease.

Breast/chestfeeding makes a difference! 

Our City-wide Initiative

The Story Behind the “Any Time, Any Place” Initiative

Breast/chestfeeding is an important feeding practice for parents of infants and young children. However, where a person will be when they need to pump milk or breast/chestfeed their child can be unpredictable. Therefore, after various conversations with community members, the Task Force started the "We support breast/chestfeeding: Any time, any place" campaign to encourage all places—but especially worksites, where many New Haven-based working parents have reported difficulties breast/chestfeeding—to become more breast/chestfeeding friendly by having a time, space, and policy for supporting their lactating employees. We also ask businesses to post a "We support breast/chestfeeding: Any time, any place" decal on their storefront window to publicly show their support in our efforts to normalize breast/chestfeeding in our communities.

“Any Time, Any Place” Window Decal

We are encouraging businesses, organizations, and worksites throughout New Haven to put up a window decal that says “We Support Breast/Chestfeeding Any Time, Any Place.” This simple action makes a huge difference to the people in our communities who breast/chestfeed. It lets them know that we support them! The decal is absolutely free and is accompanied by a swag bag of other breast/chestfeeding materials. 

If you are interested in receiving and displaying this window decal, email us!

Breast/Chestfeeding-Friendly Worksite Designation

We are also supporting worksites in receiving the Connecticut Breastfeeding Coalition’s official Breast/Chestfeeding Friendly Worksite designation. This designation requires that employees have a time, space, and policy for pumping in the workplace. This is only one step more than what Connecticut law requires, which is a time and space to pump. Creating a policy can be as simple as taking the recommendations and guidelines that a business already has and making them more official. Receiving the designation indicates to employees that the worksite supports their breast/chestfeeding goals. 

If you are interested in receiving the Breast/Chestfeeding Friendly Worksite designation, email us!

Why Should Your Business Become a Breast/Chestfeeding Friendly Workplace

Becoming a Breast/Chestfeeding Friendly Business gives your company bottom line benefits.

  • Lower absenteeism: One-day absences to care for sick children occur more than two times as often for parents who do not breast/chestfeed their infants.

  • Lower health care costs: One study found that allowing parents to breast/chestfeed for at least 6 months could save over $3.5 billion in healthcare costs (adjusting for inflation).

  • Lower Turnover Rates: A study of multiple companies with lactation support programs found an average retention rate of 94.2% compared to the national average of 59%.

  • Positive Return on Investment: Employers receive a 3:1 return on investment for every $1 invested in lactation support.

By becoming a breast/chestfeeding friendly business, employers are not only benefiting their employees, but their employees' children as well.

For more information about why your business should become a breast/chestfeeding friendly worksite, read our Business Case for Breast/Chestfeeding flyer below.

Want more info?

Click the links below to download PDFs with more information on how to become Breast/Chestfeeding Friendly.