COSTA RICA NEWS – The magistrates of the Sala Constitucional (Constitutional Court) re-confirmed that lactating mothers are entitled to – before, during or after – one hour daily to breastfeed their babies.
The ruling was handed down Wednesday.
The decision followed an appeal (recurso de amparo) by a resident of Tibás, who complained that her employer woud only give her 20 minutes a day to breastfeed.
Magistrate Fernando Cruz, explained that every mother has the irrevocable right and it cannot be changed by the employer.
In the case of breastfeeding, the right is included in Article 97 of the Family Code (Codigo de Familia), that entitles a woman ar work, 15 minutes every three hours or 30 minutes two times daily to breastfeed her child, or, as occurs in most cases one hour continuously either at the start or at the end of the work day.
The decision of the judges included the note that said “every woman should have the guaranteed right to breastfeed her chilren, as required to satisfy the needs of every child and that every child have adequate food and to enjoy the right to the highest standard of health.”