The 2010 ERC Health Care Reform Issues Survey shows that the regulations imposed by the health care reform law appear to have influenced Northeast Ohio employers’ practices for nursing mothers. When compared to 2009, nearly all (98%) employers surveyed now have space set aside for nursing mothers, compared to only 79% of employers in 2009. All respondents with fewer than 100 employees and over 500 employees had these spaces.

Similarly, many more employers (28%) have nursing mothers’ policies in place compared to 2009 (6%). Larger organizations (over 500 employees) were more likely to have nursing mother policies compared to smaller organizations (fewer than 100 employees).

The survey’s results show that since the law’s regulations went into place in 2010, which required employers to provide nursing mothers with reasonable break time for nursing activities and functional space to do so, employers have changed many of their practices relative to nursing mothers.