by Charles Gladden

BELMOPAN, Fri. May 9, 2025

The Ministry of Health and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) teamed up to open lactation centers for nursing mothers at Transparent BPO on Thursday, May 8, in Belmopan.

UNICEF recommends that breastfeeding be done for at least six months, and continue with complementary foods for up to two years or more; however, this raises difficulties for many working mothers who typically return to their employment by three months after giving birth.

“Breast milk is the best form of nutrition for that child. We also have efforts that we work with the private sector, which is what we see here today,” said Robyn Daly, Nutritionist at the Ministry of Health and Wellness.

“Having supportive measures as workplace support for women … because that helps us with our campaign and our promotion to improve breastfeeding in Belize … when we have a good partnership, intersectoral collaboration, it helps us to achieve our goal of increasing breastfeeding,” she added.

Angie Westby, HR Business Partner at Transparent BPO, highlighted that the company became aware of the problem from a mother who needed to breastfeed.

“We had a mother who had just returned from maternity leave and didn’t have a safe space for her to breastfeed. So, she would go upstairs to our section and go into the restrooms and breastfeed. I think that was a wake-up call for us, that we need a space for our mothers so that they could feel safe and comfortable to breastfeed here at work,” she said

The room comprises of a refrigerator for the feeding mothers to store their glasses of milk, sanitation supplies, a single sofa chair, and a crib. Westby noted that the call center implemented various time slots for breastfeeding mothers to select the best time for their business.

The Transparent BPO lactation centers will be implemented at their Belmopan and Belize City branches.