Sascha Mayer: State family leave program would benefit employees and employers

Editor’s note: This commentary is by Sascha Mayer, of Williston, who is the co-founder and CEO of Mamava, and a member of Main Street Alliance.

[A]s the co-founder and CEO of Mamava — a women owned, B-certified company that designs free-standing lactation suites for moms to pump or nurse in private — I support public policies that support mamas-on-the go and a statewide family and medical leave insurance program is right in line with that.

Mamava’s mission is to transform cultural perceptions of breastfeeding making it more optimistic, realistic, accommodating and inviting for all women, regardless of their circumstances. Our business plan was inspired in part by personal experiences as working moms, but it was also in direct response to recent municipal, state and federal legislation mandating lactation accommodations for nursing mothers.

The U.S. is the only industrialized nation that doesn’t offer paid family leave. Without paid leave, many moms find it challenging to breastfeed, and only 60 percent of women are actually able to meet their breastfeeding goals. According to research just published in Maternal & Child Nutrition, current rates of breastfeeding in the U.S. fall far short of the medical recommendation that mothers exclusively breastfeed for the first six months.

The implications of “suboptimal” breastfeeding rates in the U.S. are enormous for everyone involved: babies, mothers, working families and our national health. Breastfeeding isn’t just a children’s health issue — it’s also a women’s health issue. For mothers who breastfeed, the reduction in rates of breast cancer has been known for a long time. However, newer research has also shown that breastfeeding can help prevent type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease, and lower the risk of ovarian cancer.

Supporting breastfeeding mamas is a win-win-win: healthier babies, better long-term health for women, and reduced health care costs for our society at large. Women who have access to paid leave breastfeed for twice as long as those without. It’s time that our workplace policies reflected the everyday realities of working Vermont families. Paid family and medical leave is one clear way to get there.

What’s more, a statewide family and medical leave program would also benefit Vermont’s small businesses. Vermont’s economy is built on stable, tight-knit communities, and thriving small businesses. Like so many others, I chose to start my business here because of these values, but we need to do a better job of encouraging this entrepreneurial spirit through good state policies.

It can be difficult and costly for small businesses to offer robust benefit packages. We know this firsthand, as within less than a year and half of hiring our first full-time employee, we have two pregnant moms (one third of our full-time work force). While we have chosen to prioritize providing 12 weeks of paid parental leave at Mamava, it won’t be easy for us to make work. Creating a statewide family and medical leave insurance program will remove the financial barrier that so many employers can’t surmount and give all employees access to leave when they need it – whether for short-term disability or family leave.

At the end of the day, Vermont small businesses and Vermonters share similar goals: We want to grow our local economy, keep Vermonters in state, and attract more families to move here. A statewide family and medical paid leave insurance program would benefit both employees and their employers while also ensuring the long term health of our families, communities, and economy.