A mother in China who had just given birth took her company to court after her breastfeeding leave was revoked due to a medical condition that temporarily halted breastfeeding her newborn.
The woman, identified as Luo was granted maternity leave with a one-month breastfeeding leave by her workplace before her child’s birth in January 2022.
Luo is said to be from Sichuan and with the province law states women who are exclusively breastfeeding their child after giving birth are entitled to an additional one-month leave on top of the six-month maternity leave.
After she gave birth to her child, the baby was diagnosed with jaundice, and doctors advised Luo not to breastfeed for two weeks.
The company got wind of this information after Luo shared the baby’s diagnosis on social media and demanded “breastfeeding proof”, as quoted by the South China Morning Post citing local reports.
Failure to provide said proof meant that her breastfeeding leave would be revoked.
To make matters worse for the new mother, her workplace sought compensation for the salary and social insurance contributions made during her maternity leave.
Luo then filed for “labour dispute arbitration”, as quoted, and her claims were upheld by the arbitration commission, asserting she had plenty of evidence against her company.
The company then appealed the commission’s decision in court only to have the court side with Luo as well, pointing out she resumed nursing her child after the two-week stop and noted the hospital’s diagnosis backing the need for the one-month leave.
