Central Bank celebrates World Breastfeeding Week

August 03, 2012:

The Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago pioneered a Maternal Facility for its staff in 2008, the first of its kind in the country.   The Maternal Facility project was initiated in 2007, with the aim of setting up an area where new mothers could have access to private accommodation to express milk, upon resuming duties from maternity leave.  The facility was officially opened on December 2, 2008 and was the first of its kind in the country. 

The facility consists of two comfortably furnished rooms to assist in reducing anxiety during expression, individual storage spaces for personal equipment and refrigeration for storage of expressed milk. Since inception, the facility has been well utilized with mothers accessing it for periods up to five months following their return to work from maternity leave.

While such a facility is not required by law in our country, the Bank recognized the importance of breastfeeding to both baby and mother and decided that it would be a most appropriate benefit to offer to staff.  

The Informative Breastfeeding Service (TIBS) recognized the Bank for its pioneering role at a simple ceremony on August 3, 2012.

This year, the Central Bank of Trinidad & Tobago joins all breastfeeding mothers in celebrating World Breastfeeding Week during the period August 1 – 7, 2012.  In commemorating this significant occasion, a Lunch and Learn Session on “Breastfeeding and the Working Mom” was conducted for staff, in particular the new moms and dads, some of whom attended with their babies.  The session was facilitated by Dr. David Bratt and representatives from TIBS shared useful tips, techniques and products related to breastfeeding.

Courtesy the Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago