Breastfeeding Laws

Missouri Breastfeeding Laws

Mo. Rev. Stat. § 208.152 (1992) requires the department of social services to provide notification and referral of breastfeeding women who are eligible for MO HealthNet to the special supplemental food programs for women, infants and children administered by the department of health and senior services.
Mo. Rev. Stat. § 376.1210 (1996) requires health plans to provide coverage for post-discharge care which includes assistance and training in breastfeeding.
Mo. Rev. Stat. § 191.915 (1999) requires hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers to provide new mothers with a breastfeeding consultation or information on breastfeeding, the benefits to the child and information on local breastfeeding support groups. The law requires physicians who provide obstetrical or gynecological consultation to inform patients about the postnatal benefits of breastfeeding. The law requires the Department of Health to provide and distribute written information on breastfeeding and the health benefits to the child.
Mo. Rev. Stat. § 191.918 (1999, 2014) allows a mother, with discretion, to breastfeed her child in any public or private location where the mother is otherwise authorized to be. The law also states that the act of a mother breastfeeding or expressing breast milk in a public or private location where the mother and child are otherwise authorized to be shall not constitute sexual conduct or sexual contact as defined in § 566.010, and is not considered an act of public indecency, indecent exposure, lewd touching or obscenity. A municipality may not enact an ordinance prohibiting or restricting a mother from breastfeeding or expressing breast milk in a public or private location.
Mo. Rev. Stat § 494.430 (2014) allows a nursing mother, upon her request, and with a completed written statement from her physician to the court certifying she is a nursing mother, to be excused from service as a petit or grand juror. 
Mo. Rev. Stat. § 208.141 (2014) requires the department of social services to reimburse a hospital for prescribed medically necessary donor human breast milk provided to a MO HealthNet participant if certain conditions are met.

Federal Breastfeeding Laws

Providing Urgent Maternal Protections (PUMP) for Nursing Mothers Act

The PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act (PUMP Act) was signed into law on December 29, 2022. The law makes several important changes to the Break Time for Nursing Mothers law, which has required since 2010 that employers nationwide provide reasonable break time and a private, non-bathroom space for lactating employees to pump milk during the workday. The PUMP Act:
-Provides the right to break time and space to pump breast milk at work to millions more workers, including teachers and nurses
-Makes it possible for workers to file a lawsuit to seek monetary remedies in the event that their employer fails to comply
-Clarifies that pumping time must be paid if an employee is not completely relieved from duty

Pregnant Workers Fairness Act

The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act was signed into law on December 29, 2022. The law gives workers the right to receive reasonable accommodations for pregnancy, childbirth recovery, and related medical conditions, including lactation, unless it would be an undue hardship on the employer. The PWFA also protects employees from retaliation. The law goes into effect on June 27, 2023. 

Fairness for Breastfeeding Mothers Act

On Thursday, July 25, 2019, the Fairness for Breastfeeding Mothers Act of 2019 was signed into Public Law No. 116-30. The Act requires that certain public buildings that contain a public restroom also provide a lactation room, other than a bathroom, that is hygienic and available for use by a member of the public. This means that advocates and visitors to Capitol Hill, Senate and House office buildings, the Smithsonian buildings, courthouses, customshouses, and other federal facilities around the nation will have access to a clean, private lactation space.

Under current practice, federal agencies provide a designated, non-bathroom space for returning employees to pump breast milk during the work day. The Fairness for Breastfeeding Mothers Act extends this requirement to include not just employees, but visitors to federal facilities.

Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) was signed into law on March 23, 2010, by President Obama. There are three provisions of the ACA that have a direct impact on breastfeeding supports:
Preventive Services
Workplace Support
-Funding for CDC’s Breastfeeding Programs via the Prevention Fund

Breastfeeding Policy Map

The USBC Breastfeeding Policy Map is an interactive map featuring proposed federal and state legislation and regulations with the potential to impact infant feeding and/or the lactation field.

Active Legislation

The USBC closely monitors and mobilizes action on legislative and policy opportunities that can help create a landscape of breastfeeding support across the United States. Explore active bills and their current status in the legislative process.

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