The state of Maine is extending breastfeeding benefits to thousands of employees

There is good news on the horizon for Maine’s state employees and their families.

Pumpspotting, a platform that supports breastfeeding moms and empathetic employers, has partnered with Maine to supply lactation benefits to 11,000 state employees and another 20,000 workers in state-affiliated agencies.

Employees and their family members will receive access to the Pumpspotting app, which boasts timely, evidence-based information for new parents, a crowdsourced map of places to pump worldwide, one-on-one support from certified lactation consultants and a global online community of fellow breastfeeding parents.

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On the employer end, Pumpspotting administers a toolkit to manage on-site lactation facilities and ensure positive engagement with breastfeeding parents as they return to work.

“The most striking thing about breastfeeding is the invisibility,” says Leila Zayed, director of corporate strategy at Pumpspotting. “What breastfeeding parents need is access to encouragement.”

What used to pass as acceptable accommodations for nursing parents — such as a clean, private lactation facility within the office walls — are no longer enough, especially in an era of remote work. Pumpspotting sees isolation, which has been exacerbated by the pandemic, as the biggest threat to breastfeeding parents, and is working to grow their community of parents and employers.

Selected by Maine’s Department of Economic and Community Development as part of their Early Adopter Program — an initiative designed to help Maine deliver innovative solutions to its workforce — Pumpspotting is one of two Maine-based companies that will team up with a relevant state agency to bring their technology into the mainstream. The partnership will hopefully stand as a signal to other businesses that creating an inclusive workplace is good for employers and employees alike.

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According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, companies that invest in creating a breastfeeding-supportive climate see a 50% reduction in absences and sick days, save $875 a year per breastfeeding parent and noticed 83% of employees felt more positive towards the company itself.

“Employers lead the way with benefits, right or wrong. So this is a real opportunity for them to attract, retain and engage talent,” Zayed says. “We have a hunch that in this moment, some employers are really good at creating, say, a breastfeeding-tolerant climate. But a breastfeeding-supportive climate means we join her to remove those barriers and enable her success.”

Pumpspotting currently serves a community of 40,000 parents, and in addition to its partnership with Maine, the startup is collaborating with the University of Wisconsin to present in-depth research on how employees and companies fare before and after implementing Pumpspotting’s benefits. Pumpspotting challenges employers to question whether they genuinely support working parents: Who is given desirable assignments? Who gets promoted? Who is on your executive team?

If employers find the “who” to be void of caregivers, current leadership and benefits may require upgrading.

“We want to encourage feeding parents toward achieving their goals, whatever they may be,” Zayed says. “It’s an opportunity for leaders to tailor support and encouragement to each worker on their team.”