Staying Abreast: Weekly Wire - Special Section on Workplace Accommodations, National Nutrition Month Inspiration Guide, & more

The USBC e-Newsletter, Staying Abreast, is published in a weekly news brief format, called the Weekly Wire (WW). Past issues are archived below.

Subscribe: visit the signup page
Submit: visit the submission form

Please note: Inclusion of an item in this e-newsletter does NOT imply endorsement or support of such item by the United States Breastfeeding Committee, unless specifically noted.

The WW goes on hiatus several times a year: the weeks of the Independence Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, & New Year's holidays, the weeks before the Presidents Day, Memorial Day, and Labor Day holidays, and the weeks of the USBC membership meetings.

Staying Abreast: Weekly Wire - Special Section on Workplace Accommodations, National Nutrition Month Inspiration Guide, & more

3/14/2025

In this issue:

USBC Updates
- Act Now! Budget Negotiations are Underway: Urge Congress to Invest in Breastfeeding
- Create Celebration Cards and Items with Minted While Supporting the USBC
Special Section on Breastfeeding Accommodations at Work
National News
- ABM Advocacy Resource to End Predatory Marketing of Breast Milk Substitutes
- National Nutrition Month Inspiration Guide
State & Community News
- North Carolina DHHS Maternal and Infant Health Dashboard
Action Opportunities
Funding Opportunities
Upcoming Events
News & Views
Journal Publications

denotes a USBC member organization news item denotes a USBC-affiliated constellation news item

USBC Updates

Act Now! Budget Negotiations are Underway: Urge Congress to Invest in Breastfeeding

Right now, Congress is making decisions about the federal budget. Critical programs that help families feed their babies are at risk of being underfunded. These essential, evidence-based programs provide support to families across the country and need to be fully funded for Fiscal Year 2025. Your voice can make a difference in protecting and strengthening these programs through adequate funding. Use our quick and easy individual action tool to tell your Senators and Representative that supporting breastfeeding is a high-value, low-cost investment that benefits families, public health, and the economy.

Create Celebration Cards and Items with Minted While Supporting the USBC

The U.S. Breastfeeding Committee is partnered with Minted, a company known for its custom-designed products, including greeting cards, art prints, and stationery featuring artwork from independent artists and designers. By using the promo code "FUNDRAISEUSBC" at checkout, you will receive a 20% discount on your purchase and 10% of your purchase price will go to the USBC. Not only will you be able to send beautiful cards and gifts to your loved ones at a discounted price, but you will also be supporting our vital work in service of our vision of thriving families and communities. This promotional code can be used year-round for any stationery needs, including baby showers and announcements, birthday parties, holidays, and beyond. Please note that promotions cannot be stacked, so use the promo code "FUNDRAISEUSBC" to support the USBC.

Special Section on Breastfeeding Accommodations at Work

When returning to work after childbirth, lactation accommodations in the workplace setting are critical to maintaining breastfeeding. Under federal law, employers are required to provide their employees with the time and space to pump breast milk. States continue to introduce legislation to expand on protections for pregnant and breastfeeding employees to ensure workers don't have to choose between their job and their infant's health.

Arizona: Senator Burch introduced Senate Bill 1401. The bill would require employers with 15 or more employees to provide reasonable accommodations to pregnant employees, including but not limited to scheduling flexibility to accommodate prenatal healthcare visits and a private area for breastfeeding after childbirth.
Connecticut: Senator Hochadel introduced Senate Bill 1030. The bill would align state and federal law regarding break periods for the purpose of expressing milk or breastfeeding during the work day by requiring employers to provide reasonable break time.
Washington: Senator Nobles introduced Senate Bill 5217. The bill would expand pregnancy-related workplace accommodations by articulating an illustrative list of what constitutes “reasonable accommodation”, which includes providing reasonable break time for an employee to express breast milk for two years after the child's birth, and creating a civil cause of action for an employee whose right to accommodation was violated by their employer. This bill would require the employer to pay the employee at the employee's regular compensation rate for any break time and travel time to a location to express breast milk.

Workplace Accommodations News & Views:

The Gazette: "A private place to pump: Janesville Police Department dedicates room for breastfeeding employees"

National News

ABM Advocacy Resource to End Predatory Marketing of Breast Milk Substitutes

The Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine, in partnership with the Global Breastfeeding Collective, released "Predatory Marketing Online Talking Points," a brief resource designed for more effective advocacy to protect families from predatory formula marketing. Predatory marketing promoting breast milk substitutes puts new families at risk when they're at their most vulnerable. This brief, fact-based resource includes key messages on the comprehensive legal ban on the digital marketing of breast milk substitutes.

National Nutrition Month Inspiration Guide

1,000 Days launched the "2025 #March4Nutrition Inspiration Guide" for National Nutrition Month. This campaign spotlights nutrition in the first 1,000 days, which breastfeeding is a critical part of and which lays the foundation for lifelong health. The guide includes campaign hashtags, graphics, and key messaging that are meant to be used throughout the month of March across social media platforms.

State & Community News

North Carolina DHHS Maternal and Infant Health Dashboard

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services launched the new Maternal and Infant Health Dashboard. This dashboard was created to provide data showing trends, racial/ethnic inequities, maternal age, maternal education, and geographical differences for a number of important health indicators describing risk factors and characteristics of birthing people and birth outcomes, including "Infants Breastfeeding at Delivery Discharge." The tool makes it easy to examine statewide or county-specific data for a number of health indicators, highlighting inequities in maternal and infant health outcomes. Media highlights include:

Breastfeed Durham: "Unveiling North Carolina’s Maternal and Infant Health Data Dashboard: A Tool for Equity and Insight"

Action Opportunities

The International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners and the International Lactation Consultant Association: "2025 IBCLC Care Award." Applications deadline: Sunday, March 23.

Maryland Breastfeeding Coalition: "Maryland/DC Breastfeeding-Friendly Awards." Nomination deadline: Saturday, March 15, 2025.

National Association of County and City Health Officials: "Local Public Health on the Hill." Action deadline: n/a.