Breastfeeding and Daycare

When I decided on a daycare for my child I had no idea that breastfeeding was something I needed to ask about. I thought that taking breast milk would be no different then taking in formula. The bottles were pre-made, no mixing necessary, and everything right down to the cap were labeled with my daughters name. Unfortunately I was wrong.

Choosing a daycare for your child can be an overwhelming task. You need to visit a wide variety of daycare centers to ensure that the center that you choose for your child feels just right. You will need to ask them a series of questions that may make you feel like you are on a job interview, all the while you are thinking to yourself, am I even going to be far enough along on the wait list for this center to justify putting down the security deposit? You need to make sure you are comfortable with the staff, how long have they worked there, what training have they had, and what security measures are in place to ensure your child will be safe while at daycare?

If you are planning to breastfeed your child you will also need to make sure to ask your daycare center if they accept breastfed babies. You would think with breastfeeding being the nutrition of choice for infants according to both the World Health Organization and the American Academy of Pediatrics it would be a no brainier. Only the state of Louisiana has a law (House Bill 233) making it illegal for day care centers to discriminate against breastfed children. What this means to you is that a private daycare can refuse to accept your breastfed child.

This being said, if you are even remotely thinking about breastfeeding, you will want to ask the potential daycare center if they accept breastfed babies before going on the initial tour of the facility. If they do accept breastfed babies (and most do), you will want to ask them if there is an additional charge to store express breast milk. There are daycare centers out there who have been known to charge up to $10 per day to store expressed breast milk.

You are putting a lot of time, effort and love into pumping for your child. Working and pumping is something you need to dedicate yourself too. This being said you want to make sure the daycare center you take your infant to is supportive of you. Asking these simple questions will ensure that you will be able to provide expressed breast milk for your infant or toddler. Daycare centers should not have the right to mandate what we do or do not feed our children, and until that changes, we as parents are responsible for asking these questions.