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News release

As World Breastfeeding Week & National Breastfeeding Month Begins, MomsRising and WONGDOODY Announce Launch of #IPumpedHere Hashtag Campaign to Support Breastfeeding Moms at Work

August 1, 2017
Breastfeeding

Lisa Lederer, 202-371-1996

Moms Group and Independent Ad Agency Create Viral Hashtag Pushing for ‘Pumpers’ Rights’ Including Break Time and Facilities to Pump at the Workplace
Today, as August marks the beginning of World Breastfeeding Week and National Breastfeeding Month, moms advocacy organization MomsRising in partnership with independent creative ad agency WONGDOODY announced the launch of #IPumpedHere, a viral social media campaign to drive attention to the serious lack of clean, legal places for breastfeeding mothers to pump in the workplace. Throughout the month—which includes Black Breastfeeding Week from August 25th-31st—the campaign aims to empower breastfeeding moms to share their pumping experiences as a creative tool to urge employers and lawmakers to expand protections for breastfeeding moms at work.
 
VIEW #IPumpedHere Instagram posts HERE: https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/ipumpedhere/
VIEW the #IPumpedHere website HERE: https://ipumpedhere.org/
 
Medical guidelines recommend that new mothers breastfeed exclusively for six months and continue breastfeeding for at least one year, but many women, particularly women of color, face significant roadblocks in reaching those goals. Federal Law requires employers to provide hourly wage-earning and some salaried employees (nonexempt workers)  with “reasonable break time” and a private, non-bathroom place to express breast milk during the workday, up until the child’s first birthday. This is a great first step, however, a full 60% of U.S. working mothers still do not have access to proper pumping facilities or adequate break time at work.
 
“Studies have shown that breastfeeding means healthier moms and babies, and the benefits extend to businesses too because healthier families mean less employee absenteeism and higher productivity,” explained Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner, CEO and Executive Director of MomsRising. “While 8 out 10 of American moms start out breastfeeding as is recommended by pediatricians, less than half are still breastfeeding at six months postpartum.  One of the main causes for the drop-off in breastfeeding rates is the lack of clean, accessible places to pump. That is why it is vital to highlight new mothers’ rights to clean, safe, accessible places at the workplace to pump. It is shameful that in a developed nation like the Unites States, breastfeeding moms at work must resort to pumping on the toilet or other inadequate and unsanitary places because their employer does not accommodate their right to feed their child.  Our hope is that the #IPumpedHere campaign shows the impact of inadequate working conditions on new mothers and encourages employers and legislators to create safe spaces for moms to pump.”
 
“Pumping rights is an issue that’s often overlooked, even though inadequate conditions and break time are incredibly common problems that can relatively easily be fix, but also can really have a negative impact on working mothers if they’re not,” shared Skyler Mattson, Managing Director at WONGDOODY. “This issue impacts women from all walks of life, in all types of jobs, and employers and lawmakers alike must go farther in order to truly protect the needs of breastfeeding working moms. With the Affordable Care Act in a state of uncertainty, now is the time to shine light on this issue and make sure women are protected in the future.”
 
For more information, or for interview with MomsRising, please contact Emily Hecker at 202/371-1999 or emily@prsolutionsdc.com.
 
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WONGDOODY is an independently owned, full-service advertising agency with offices in Seattle and Los Angeles. Its inclusive process of Creative Democracy has fueled the agency for over twenty years, fostering multi-award-winning creative and a culture that consistently makes WONGDOODY one of the “best places to work” according to Ad Age, the Puget Sound Business Journal, and the Los Angeles Business Journal. WONGDOODY’s clients include Amazon, T-Mobile, Air New Zealand, and Papa Murphy’s Pizza; agency billings currently top $142 million. www.WONGDOODY.com

 

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MomsRising.org is an on-the-ground and online grassroots organization of more than a million people who are working to increase family economic security, decrease discrimination against women and moms, and to build a nation where businesses and families can thrive. Established in 2006, MomsRising and its members are organizing and speaking out to improve public policy and to change the national dialogue on issues that are critically important to America’s families, including criminal justice reform, immigration policy reform, and gun safety. MomsRising is working for paid family and medical leave, affordable, high quality childcare and early learning, and for an end to the wage and hiring discrimination which penalizes women — particularly moms and women of color — and so many others. MomsRising advocates for access to healthy food for all kids, health care for all, earned sick days, and breastfeeding rights so that all children can have a healthy start. MomsRising maintains a Spanish language website: MamásConPoder.org. Sign up online at www.MomsRising.org — and follow us on our blog, and on Twitter and Facebook.