New measures for women who want to breastfeed at work are to be introduced by the government.
A new white paper will set out the proposals in detail, which include having a private area available for women wishing to breastfeed, having a fridge available to store expressed milk and being flexible as to when working mothers wanted to take their breaks.
The Health Secretary Andrew Lansley has said that he intends to work with businesses to introduce the measures which come in the wake of the European Parliament passing the Pregnant Workers Directive which will introduce mandatory paid breastfeeding breaks for mothers who take their babies to work. Mr Lansley has said that Britain would take its own action to bring in “family friendly breastfeeding policies”.
However the proposals have been criticised by business leaders who warn that they could cost businesses thousands of pounds a year and could even lead to job losses. Ruth Lea, former head of the policy unit at the Institute of Directors, said that businesses already help new mothers and that breastfeeding policy should be left to individual firms to negotiate with their own staff.