A Parent-friendly and Milk-friendly Environment Greets the Employees of Incledon Consulting Group

As a small business, we at Milk It love that we have the opportunity to get to know some of our customers. Once in a while, we have the unique opportunity to get a glimpse into how our products are part of a bigger picture - that of supporting moms and the milk they make.

When we come across corporations that are going out of their way to support their breastfeeding employees, we want to do all we can to share their story. These corporations and the individuals leading the charge at these companies could be the inspiration you are looking for as you seek to set up a lactation room at your place of employment.

Incledon Consulting welcomes back its working mothers in style! {Awaiting these new parents are some lactation-supporting treats, frames for baby photographs and the Milk It Kit: back to work survival kit for breastfeeding moms.}

Today we are putting the spotlight on Incledon Consulting in Southern California and a woman who took it upon herself to create a welcoming and supportive environment for their working parents. These photos show off the fabulous "Mother's Room" that was created in anticipation of two employees returning to work after maternity leave. This is just one aspect of the inclusive and well thought out "Parent to Work" program championed by Elise Macaluso at Incledon.

Elise set out to create a serene and comfortable spot for expectant mothers to retreat and for new mothers to pump breastmilk for their babies while they work.

This space has everything a nursing mother would require: a comfortable place to sit (even a foot rest!), a privacy screen in case there is more than one mother in the space at a time, storage space, nursing pillows for support, a small refrigerator/freezer to store milk (and lunch!), a bulletin board for pinning notes and reminders and door privacy signs and milk labels included in the Milk It Kit. While the room does not have a sink to wash pump parts, there is a kitchen and bathroom right next door to this room.

Elise wanted new parents to feel supported and to be able to return to work less stressed and more educated. She outlined the elements of their carefully crafted back to work program.

The New Parents to Work Program at Incledon:

• is an inclusive program for new parents, whatever the circumstance (birth, adoption, etc.)
• is customized for each employee - based on employee's due date, a "baby leave program" is drafted to discuss how to delegate work during the leave.
• includes new parent and childbirth education provided by New Arrival Educators. Utilizing this resource the company gifts the employee: webinars on healthy beginnings, online childbirth education classes, new parent consultations with a registered nurse and if the employee plans to breastfeed, 3 consultations with a lactation consultant.
• 16 weeks paid leave in which the employee is encouraged to completely "unplug" and not look at emails, etc.
• Childcare support: employer provides access to emergency childcare, paid for up to 5 days.

A photo wall in the Mother's Room shows photos of the Incledon Team as babies.

As a family-oriented company, Incledon hopes this plan eases the transition back to work for its employees, who they hope will feel less stressed, more educated and more able to fully focus on work.

We applaud the efforts of Incledon Consulting Group and Elise Macaluso and are most certain that they will be rewarded for these efforts with very loyal employees.