The Mothers’ Toolkit
The mother toolkit aims to help mothers, who wish to do so, balance breastfeeding and return to work. This toolkit was developed from and draws on evidence from the Maternal Wellbeing, infant feeding and return to paid work study funded by the Nuffield Foundation. The study found that mothers experienced pre-return anxieties and concerns relating to their child’s and their own emotional/ physical well-being, and the practicalities in the workplace. These related to not knowing what to expect. Drawing on the varied experiences of mothers from the study, this toolkit offers guidance to mothers on how to balance breastfeeding with paid work. It provides information on employee rights, the practicalities and how to communicate with their employer.
The toolkit was written by Professor Sylvia Jaworska and Professor Sarah Jewell (members of the study team) with Sally Rickard IBCLC, an international board certified lactation consultant (the gold-standard professional qualification in breastfeeding, globally recognised).
If you can spare 5 minutes we’d love to hear your feedback on our toolkits through our toolkit feedback survey Your feedback will help us to understand what was useful and ways to improve the toolkits.
You can download the guides as a single guide:
Or download the guides as individual guides:
The information provided in these toolkits (the “Information”) is for general information purposes only and does not constitute legal or medical advice. While reasonable care is taken to ensure accuracy, the Information may not reflect the most current legal or medical developments. The Information should not be interpreted as substituting medical consultation or professional legal advice and should not be relied upon to make medical decisions (or otherwise). You should always obtain medical professional or specialist advice before taking (or refraining from taking) any action on the basis of the Information. The University of Reading disclaims liability for actions taken based on the Information.
The University of Reading is the owner or the licensee of all intellectual property rights in the Information which is protected by copyright laws. All such rights are reserved. Please see University of Reading Terms of use which apply to these toolkits.
The Nuffield Foundation is an independent charitable trust with a mission to advance social wellbeing. It funds research that informs social policy, primarily in Education, Welfare, and Justice. The Nuffield Foundation is the founder and co-funder of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics, the Ada Lovelace Institute and the Nuffield Family Justice Observatory. The Foundation has funded this project, but the views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily the Foundation.
Bluesky: @nuffieldfoundation.org; LinkedIn: Nuffield Foundation Website: nuffieldfoundation.org
