Business Case for Breastfeeding: Outreach to Employees and Labor Organizations

The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) anticipates soliciting services for the Business Case got Breastfeeding: Outreach to Employers and Labor Organizations for the . Maternal Child Health Bureau (MCHB), HRSA. .The proposed acquisition listed herein is a 100% small business set aside. Breastfeeding imparts numerous health benefits for both infants and their mothers as documented in research. The health outcomes are so significant that in the U.S., it has been estimated that more than $13 billion can be saved in the nation's health care costs if most mothers exclusively breastfeed their infants to 6 months as recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics and nearly all major health professional and medical organizations world-wide. Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Immunization Survey show that nearly 75% of women initiate breastfeeding following their infant's birth. However, only 33% are breastfeeding exclusively by 3 months postpartum, and less than 14% exclusively breastfeed for the recommended 6 month period. Returning to work is among the reasons cited for early supplementation and/or total weaning to formula. Current data indicate that in the United States, more than 70% of the nation's women are employed. Over half of the mothers with small children are either seeking or returning to full-time employment shortly after the birth of their infant. For breastfeeding mothers employed outside of the home, maintaining milk production while separated from their infant remains a significant challenge. According to a national survey conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management in 2008, only 25% of businesses offer a lactation room for mothers to express milk, and only 6% offer education and access to lactation support. Section 4207 of the recently passed Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (health care reform bill) calls for amendment of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 requiring employers to provide "reasonable break time for an employee to express milk for her nursing child for 1 year after the child's birth each time such employee has need to express milk, and a place, other than a bathroom, that is shielded from view and free from intrusion from co-workers and the public, which may be used by an employee to express milk." In 2007, HRSA's Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB) with support from DHHS Office on Women's Health (OWH) developed and marketed The Business Case for Breastfeeding, a worksite initiative designed to increase awareness of the importance of lactation support in the workplace. This worksite initiative has provided employers with both the business rationale and effective options for supporting their breastfeeding employees. Over the past three years, MCHB and OWH provided training to State breastfeeding coalition members in thirty States to utilize The Business Case for Breastfeeding in assisting small and medium-sized businesses establish appropriate lactation support for their breastfeeding employees. Based on this training, State breastfeeding coalition members have provided outreach to more than 1000 businesses throughout the U.S. In addition, The Business Case for Breastfeeding has been adapted by the National Business Group on Health for use by large companies with more than 50 employees. This worksite initiative is timely and necessary in light of the provisions of the recently passed health reform bill. Year four implementation of The Business Case for Breastfeeding will broaden the outreach efforts to conduct national-level training that will assist businesses in providing the necessary support for their breastfeeding employees. The outreach and training will also assist employers in the implementation of the new lactation support requirement in health care reform legislation. This initiative builds on current efforts and seeks to advance breastfeeding worksite support as part of mainstream national policy and practice. A national outreach and collaboration effort will be implemented, involving some or all of the following tasks: (a) Conduct outreach to at least ten business organizations and labor unions with a national membership or reach. Methods include site visits to stakeholders, monthly phone calls and emails to provide an-going assistance; and presentations at five (5) conferences, which will be based on HRSA's resource kit The Business Case for Breastfeeding: Steps to Creating a Breastfeeding Friendly Worksite. (b) Convene a small scale National Summit in Washington, D.C. to identify strategies for comprehensive implementation of The Business Case for Breastfeeding (C)Develop a Toolkit with recommendations for implementing breastfeeding support programs in specific worksites such as universities and colleges, schools and hospitals which present specific challenges, (D) Present three (3) one-day training events based on The Business Case for Breastfeeding for U.S. Government Work-Life Coordinators in collaboration with the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. (E) Develop three (3) one hour webinars based on the Business Case for Breastfeeding for use by businesses with national scope and national organizations representing businesses and (F) Sponsor monthly conference calls with State Breastfeeding Coalitions to discuss their outreach activities with businesses in their states. The anticipated period of performance is for an eighteen (18) month base year. This is a pre-solicitation notice and not a request for proposals. The solicitation document (RFP) may be posted at this site www.fedbizopps.gov approximately fifteen (15) days of this notice and can be downloaded by looking under the main menu for HHS/Office-Health Resources and Services Administration/locations- Office of Acquisition Management Policy, Division of Contracting Operations. The closing date for receipt of proposals will be approximately thirty (30) days after issuance/posting of the RFP. It shall be the offeror's responsibility to monitor this website for the RFP and any amendments to the RFP. The agency will consider proposals from all responsible sources. The contact person for this acquisition is: Debora A. Pitts, Contracts Operations Branch, DPM/HRSA, Parklawn Building, 5600 Fishers Lane, Room 13A-19, Rockville, MD 20857-5600; phone number +1 (555) 000-0000 or 443-2750; FAX +1 (555) 000-0000.