If a woman returns to work before her child reaches the age of 18 months but wishes to continue breastfeeding, she has a legal right to do so. Estonian labor law supports mothers who want the best for their children by allowing additional breaks during the working day for breastfeeding or expressing breast milk. Below is an overview of the rights and opportunities available to working mothers in relation to breastfeeding and how to apply them in practice.

Breastfeeding breaks
If a mother returns to work before her child is 1.5 years old, she is entitled to additional breaks for breastfeeding. These breaks are given every three hours and last up to 30 minutes at a time. If a mother has two or more children under the age of 1.5 years, she must be given at least one hour of break time.

Use of breaks
If breastfeeding at work is not possible, the mother may use these breaks elsewhere, for example at home or in a suitable and private place. In addition, if the mother so wishes, she may use the breaks not only for feeding, but also for expressing and storing breast milk.

At the mother's request, these feeding breaks can be combined with rest and meal breaks or used to shorten the working day. This gives mothers more flexibility in balancing work and family life.

Remuneration
Breastfeeding breaks are considered part of working time and are remunerated in accordance with the Employment Contracts Act based on the average salary for the last six months. If the mother has not worked for six consecutive months, the remuneration is calculated based on the average salary for the time worked so far. If the mother has not yet started working (e.g. before the first payday), the remuneration agreed in the employment contract is used as a basis.

An exception is made in cases where the mother receives parental benefit – in such cases, no separate remuneration is paid for breastfeeding breaks.