Library receives breastfeeding worksite grant

The Daviess County Library is the first business in Daviess County to receive the Missouri Breastfeeding Friendly Worksite grant. The Missouri Breastfeeding Friendly Worksite grant helps businesses purchase equipment, such as a privacy screen and chair, for breastfeeding mothers to use to express their breast milk or nurse their baby. It is a collaboration between the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services and the Missouri Breastfeeding Coalition.

This program aids in bringing an increased awareness about the importance of worksite lactation support. The grant recognizes employers with policies that are supportive of their breastfeeding employees and have a commitment to providing a flexible work schedule for mothers to pump, a private space other than a bathroom to pump or breastfeed, and easy access to a safe water source and safe storage for breast milk. Upon receiving the grant, the library purchased a privacy screen and chair.

In January of this year, Daviess County Health Department Breastfeeding Counselor Jessica Nelson approached Library Director Allison Spidle about applying for the grant.  Spidle, who was eight months pregnant at the time, knew that a screen and chair would greatly improve the library’s ability to support her own breastfeeding needs once back at work but also noted the library’s many breastfeeding mothers and patrons who have to use the library’s public restrooms or go out to their car in the parking lot to feed their baby or pump.

To these ends, while the stated purpose of the grant is to encourage worksite lactation support for employees, the library is expanding that mission by making the screen and chair available to patrons upon request and pending an appropriate available space in the library. The chair and screen are currently in the upstairs conference room, but can be set up elsewhere in the library with some notice.