Prematurity Awareness Month: Final Push for the Pump Bill

by Naomi Bromberg Bar-Yam, PhD

Every year in Massachusetts, more than 6,000 babies are born too soon. These fragile infants often begin their lives in NICUs, facing medical challenges that require intensive support. This Prematurity Awareness Month, the Massachusetts Breastfeeding Coalition is kicking off a final, urgent push to pass legislation that could make a life-saving difference for these babies and their families: S.682 / H.1317 – An Act Improving Access to Breast Pumps.

Why Breast Pumps Matter for Preterm Infants

We know that breast milk is not just nutrition for preterm babies—it is medicine. It protects against infections, improves digestion, supports brain and immune system development, and reduces the risk of life-threatening conditions like NEC (necrotizing enterocolitis). But very preterm low birthweight babies in the NICU often cannot nurse at the breast. Their mothers rely on multi-user breast pumps to express milk— early and often—in order to build and maintain their supply.

Unfortunately, multi-user pump rentals are expensive and are therefore not accessible to all who need them. Families with limited means, including families of color, are the most likely to be affected, and prematurity rates are higher in these communities.

What the Bill Does

S.682 / H.1317 would mandate insurance coverage for:

• Multi-user breast pump rental and replacement parts
• Breast milk storage, sterilization, and replacement supplies
• Initial and ongoing assessment, fitting, and support by an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC)

This coverage would apply as long as the baby remains in intensive care or cannot nurse, helping parents sustain milk production until direct breastfeeding is possible.

The Legislature’s Support So Far

We are deeply grateful to the Joint Committees on Financial Services and on Health Care Financing, which supported the bill last session. Last year, Health Care Financing requested an independent review by the Center for Health Information and Analysis (CHIA). According to the Center’s website, “CHIA evaluates the impact of health benefit mandate bills referred by Massachusetts legislative committees. These evaluations provide a medical efficacy analysis and an estimate of the effect on health insurance costs.”

The report found what we already knew: the bill is valuable, effective, and financially sound, with an estimated cost of just $0.04–$0.08 per insured member per month.

Let’s Get It Passed—This Session

This bill has been before the legislature for the last three sessions, almost six years. That’s a lot of babies and families that did NOT receive the care they needed. Please help us move this bill over the finish line this session—before the end of 2025.

This fall and winter, we’ll need your help at three key points:

1. Now: Thank the Health Care Financing Committee and urge them to once again report the bill out favorably.
2. Soon: When the bill is referred to House and Senate Ways and Means, contact those committees to keep it moving.
3. Finally: If it reaches the full House and Senate, contact your own legislators and ask them to vote YES.

You can find easy-to-use letter and email templates in our call-to-action post.

Phone calls make a difference, too, especially as we near the finish line.

Please cc advocacy@massbreastfeeding.org on any outreach so we can coordinate efforts.

Because Every Baby Deserves a Healthy Start

Preterm birth is hard enough. Getting the tools to feed your baby shouldn’t be.

Let’s work together this Prematurity Awareness Month to make multi-user pumps accessible to all families that need them. Let’s pass the pump bill.

Naomi Bromberg Bar-Yam, PhD, has been working in maternal and child health for 35 years as an educator, researcher, advocate, and writer.  In addition to serving on the board of Massachusetts Breastfeeding Coalition, she is past president of the Human Milk Banking Association of North America (HMBANA) and is the founding director emerita of Mothers’ Milk Bank Northeast, which provides safe donor milk to hospitals and families throughout the northeastern US. Learn more about her on her LactSpeak profile.

Blog editor: Ann Marie Lindquist