LifeCare^® Webinar: Breastfeeding Is a Competitive Business Issue

Free webinar will help attendees design lactation programs that enhance employee satisfaction, loyalty and retention—and reduce health care costs and absenteeism

WESTPORT, Conn., July 26, 2006 – Employers who don't help workers achieve their breastfeeding goals are putting their organizations at risk, warns LifeCare^®, Inc., provider of comprehensive specialty health services and a longtime pioneer in the work/life industry, in an upcoming web-based seminar, Designing Effective Corporate Lactation Programs. Without the support of their employers, working women who choose to breastfeed may simply find a new employer, potentially creating a significant recruitment and retention challenges. In addition to effective program design, the webinar will focus on the business benefits of workplace breastfeeding programs, program best practices and the success of Toyota Motor Corporation's Mothers at Work workplace breastfeeding program, which will be shared by co-presenter Elizabeth Hall of Toyota.

The webinar will be held Monday, August 7, at 12 noon Eastern Time, free of charge to anyone who would like to participate. If you would like to participate in the webinar, you can register by entering the following URL you're your web browser, clicking on the “Enroll” button and then filling out the registration form: http://www.lifecare.com/webinar.html

“When you consider the facts that women represent almost half of the country's working population and that 75 percent of all new mothers initiate breastfeeding, it's easy to see why breastfeeding has the potential to become such a important competitive issue for employers,” said Marianne C. Stook, LifeCare's managing director of Employer Sponsored Work/Life Initiatives. “One-and-a-half million new mothers will return to work before their baby's first birthday. And if a woman senses that her employer is somehow unsupportive of her decision to breastfeed, she'll likely take longer to return to work—or she might not come back at all. Being unsupportive of breastfeeding employees simply doesn't make good business sense.”

Stook said that LifeCare is offering the webinar for two basic reasons. “First, World Breastfeeding Week is August first through the seventh, so the timing is appropriate. And second, the government's ongoing breastfeeding educational campaign has made this a hot button topic again.” What's more, Stook points out, 10 states already require employers to support breastfeeding employees and legislation across the country continues to evolve. “More than ever, employers need to address their workers' breastfeeding needs,” she said.

The Benefits of Breastfeeding

Experts have widely touted the organizational benefits of workplace breastfeeding support. They include significantly reduced absenteeism among working mothers, lower health care expenses for breastfeeding mothers and their children, and a speedier return to work following maternity leave.

The health benefits of breastfeeding to mothers and infants are equally compelling. Studies by groups such as the American Academy of Pediatrics and the UCLA Center for Healthier Children, Families and Communities have shown that infants who are breastfed are more likely to have stronger immune systems initially than bottle-fed babies. Infants who are not breastfeed exclusively for the first six months may be more prone to developing asthma, allergies, obesity, ear infections and other illnesses in childhood. Other studies suggest a decreased risk of death among breastfed infants and protection against Type 1 diabetes, respectively.

LifeCare's “Preparing to Breastfeed” CDROM is an excellent resource for new mothers. This interactive course, which offers helpful advice and tips from the experts, has won multiple industry awards:   Silver Connecticut Quality Improvement Award—The Connecticut Quality Improvement Award Partnership   Clarion Award—The Association for Women in Communications   Award of Distinction—The Videographer Awards Association   Crystal Award of Distinction—The Communicator Awards Association   Grand Mercury and Gold Mercury Awards—MerComm, Inc., International Academy of Communications Arts & Sciences

LifeCare provides a wide range of helpful educational materials and other breastfeeding resources to its clients, including a breastpump subsidy program, a six-time award-winning “Preparing to Breastfeed” CD-ROM course (not available in stores), and discounts on a wide range of products and services for parents and their children.

LifeCare is also the creator of Mothers at Work^®, the world's leading workplace breastfeeding program, which provides expectant and breastfeeding parents with prenatal education, access to lactation consultants, educational materials, and products (including breast pumps) that enable women to manage breastfeeding and working effectively. Mothers at Work also provides mothers with pre-screened referrals to local board certified lactation consultants nationwide, and it offers counseling, education and referral services that support mothers during pregnancy and family leave and after returning to work.

Notes to Editors

Marianne C. Stook is available for interview.

About LifeCare^®, Inc.
LifeCare provides clients with comprehensive specialty health services and customized care plans for all aspects of their personal and professional lives, including child care and parenting, elder care and healthy aging, education and personal growth, financial and legal matters, and far beyond. LifeCare serves 1,500 client companies with 4.5 million individuals within corporations, health plans, government agencies and unions. For more information, visit www.lifecare.com.

Media contact: Michael Civiello
LifeCare, Inc.
pr1@lifecare.com
203-291-4170