The Busines Case For Breastfeeding

Situation

The Business Case for Breastfeeding Train-the-Trainer initiative was designed to provide employers and outreach groups with the necessary skills and knowledge to (1) provide quality training to other individuals in the community on The Business Case for Breastfeeding Resource Kit, and (2) engage with local businesses by advocating for worksite lactation programs for their employees. In 2008 the training program was launched with a pilot training provided to twenty individuals from ten state breastfeeding coalitions. The beginning of a three-year intensive training program took place in Washington, DC, in January of 2008. After three years, twenty additional state breastfeeding coalitions were selected to participate in the training initiative (a list of trained states is provided in the previous chapter).

Task

How can HCDI's Business Case for Breastfeeding Toolkit instill confidence and provide incentives to employers in order to accommodate working mothers who intend to breastfeed their babies in addition to complying with the Affordable Care Act?

Action

In Year 1, ten state breastfeeding coalitions represented by two individuals each came to Washington, DC, to receive training on The Business Case for Breastfeeding Resource Kit. They were asked to take the information back to their respective states and create a plan to train other people in the state. In Years 2 and 3, participants were provided a community-based training where 75 people came from all over their state to receive training on The Business Case for Breastfeeding.

Result

At the end of the training initiative, the Project Training Team, which consisted of trainers from Every Mother, Inc and HCD International, successfully trained over 900 individuals in approximately 30 trainings across the country. In turn, those 900 trained individuals successfully trained approximately 2800 individuals in their communities on the Business Case for Breastfeeding Resource Kit.