On March 23, 2010 President Obama signed into law the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Under the ACA, health insurance plans must provide breastfeeding support, counseling, and equipment for the duration of breastfeeding. This includes the cost of a breast pump and support from a certified Lactation Consultant. The ACA additionally amended section 7 of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The amendment states that, “employers are required to provide a reasonable amount of break time and space to express milk as frequently as needed by the nursing mother, for up to one year following the birth of the employee’s child. The space provided by the employer cannot be a bathroom, and it must be shielded from view and free from intrusion by coworkers or the public.” ACA Effect on Breastfeeding To view or download, click the image above! But are these measures making a difference in breastfeeding results and improving the health of mom and baby? The short answer is yes.

1. Tami Gurley-Calvez, Lindsey Bullinger, Kandice A. Kapinos, “Effect of the Affordable Care Act on Breastfeeding Outcomes”, American Journal of Public Health 108, no. 2 (February 1, 2018):
pp. 277-283. DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2017.304108 ∙ http://www.whijournal.com/article/S1049-3867(15)00117-6/fulltext ∙ https://www.dol.gov/wb/first-time_mothers_final_508.pdf ∙ Ball TM, Wright
AL. Health care costs of formula-feeding in the first year of life. Pediatrics. 1999;103:870-876. ∙ https://www.cdc.gov/breastfeeding/data/reportcard.htm ∙ http://www.medelabreastfeedingus.com/
for-professionals/media-center/284/new-research-reveals-access-to-breastfeeding-counseling-and-supplies-have-high-rewards-low-cost
Breastfeeding Rates: The CDC tracks our nation’s
progress on achieving the Healthy People 2020
goals. 83.2% of babies born in 2015 started to
breastfeed, but only 24.9% of babies were
exclusively breastfed through 6 months (the
American Academy of Pediatrics recommendation)
Ever Breastfed
Breastfeeding at 6 Months
Breastfeeding at 12 Months
2014
25%
35%
45%
55%
65%
75%
85%
2015 2016 2017 2018
Sources
In 2012, only 40% of women had access to both break time and private space to breastfeed. The ACA
requires large employers to provide reasonable break time and private place for expressing milk, and
the ACA mandates insurance coverage for lactation support services and equipment at no cost.
Breastfeeding has increased from 74% in 2008 to over 80% in 2018.
AeroflowBreastpumps.com
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Breast Pumps
Shipped by
Aeroflow
Pumps Shipped by Aeroflow: There has
been an astounding 1000% more moms
that have received a breast pump in
2018 compared to 2014.
74% of women of childbearing age are in the labor force
1961-1965 = 16.8% of first time moms returned to work within a year
2005-2007 = 63.8% of first time moms returned to work within a year
The ACA Policy Change was associated with an Increase
in Breastfeeding Duration by 10%
and duration of Exclusive Breastfeeding by 21%