Rachael Bews, a mother of three from Edinburgh, has petitioned the UK Parliament for a statutory right to paid breastfeeding and expressing breaks, along with suitable workplace facilities.
Bews, founder of the Nu Coton marketing agency, launched her Don’t Make Me Choose campaign after she was prevented from attending a professional development programme because she could not bring her then five-month-old breastfed daughter.
She said the campaign was “not about asking for special treatment”, but about “removing a practical barrier to health, equality and workforce participation”.
The petition states that breastfeeding parents in the UK have no statutory right to paid breastfeeding or expressing breaks at work. It claims this forces many to choose between feeding their baby and participating fully in work.
Bews said women had told her they had expressed milk in toilets, weaned earlier than they wanted to, lost income, turned down opportunities or left work altogether.
“No woman should have to choose between breastfeeding her baby and earning a living,” she said. “Yet that is the choice our current system creates.”
A petition receiving more than 10,000 signatures requires a Government response. If it reaches more than 100,000 signatures, the issue can be considered for debate in Parliament.
A UK Government spokesperson said ministers would expect employers to be compassionate in allowing mothers time to breastfeed when returning to work, but added that the Government had no plans to introduce paid breastfeeding time.
