Texas Mother-Friendly Worksite Partnership

Project Overview

The Texas Mother-Friendly Worksite Program was developed by the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) in 1995 in adherence with Texas Health and Safety Code 165. Breastfeeding as one of many efforts to support women in reaching their personal breastfeeding goals by encouraging employers to develop a worksite lactation support program and be recognized for their efforts through a Mother-Friendly Worksite Designation.

Since the program launched, substantial guidance has been developed and disseminated to inform best practice in the field. As outlined on the TexasMotherFriendly.org website, there are a number of recommended best-practice components that employers may incorporate to increase the efficacy of—and return on investment from— a worksite lactation support program: 

Evidence indicates that worksite breastfeeding support policies are most effective when they facilitate: (1) privacy for milk expression; (2) flexible scheduling and work options to accommodate breaks in a typical work day for milk expression; (3) dissemination of breastfeeding information and education to female and male employees during pregnancy and after the baby's birth; and (4) a positive, supportive environment from management and co-workers for employees who are combining work and breastfeeding.

The Texas Mother-Friendly Worksite Technical Assistance and Support Program (TMFW-TASP) was established in 2015 at the Michael & Susan Dell Center for Healthy Living at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) School of Public Health in Austin to provide technical assistance and support to worksites across the state of Texas who are seeking Mother-Friendly designation, a designation which demonstrates a basic level of support for nursing mothers in the workplace.

The TMFW-TASP team is also providing targeted promotion and outreach activities to reach new worksites across employment sectors and geographic regions statewide. They are assisting with the evaluation and dissemination of project and program successes through the analysis, synthesis and reporting of quantitative and qualitative data collected. The Texas Mother-Friendly Worksite Technical Assistance and Support Program (TMFW-TASP) is funded by the Office of Title V and Family Health at the Department of State Health Services (DSHS).