February 7, 2011

Johns Hopkins named top breastfeeding-friendly workplace

The Maryland Breastfeeding Coalition and its sister group, the D.C. Breastfeeding Coalition, have recognized Johns Hopkins’ East Baltimore medical campus as the region’s top workplace for supporting breastfeeding mothers.

One of 10 winners of the inaugural D.C./Maryland Breastfeeding-Friendly Workplace Awards, Johns Hopkins scored the highest of all honorees. The award recognizes workplaces for doing what they can to remove barriers for breastfeeding mothers on the job, including providing clean rooms devoted to pumping milk and allotting the time to do it.

“We know that breast milk is the best nutrition for baby and provides many health benefits for both baby and mother,” said Julie Murphy, coordinator of the employee lactation support program on the East Baltimore campus and the lead pediatric lactation consultant at The Johns Hopkins Hospital. “Going back to work is one of the main barriers to continuing breastfeeding. We recognize that and want to support the mom in any way we can.”

The East Baltimore campus has three rooms devoted to pumping, with access to hospital-grade pumps; breastfeeding support groups; and a lactation consultant available to mothers needing assistance. Some new mothers are also allowed flexible schedules and have access to on-site child care.