Hi everyone,
I've been mostly lurking here for a while. What a great forum! I
breastfed my two homebirthed children and am a huge bf supporter, tho
not a certified expert like most of you are.
I am writing my PhD dissertation on "The Effect of Welfare Reform on
Breastfeeding Rates" (hint: they went down). I will be making policy
suggestions at the end of the paper. The best policy, of course,
would be for all TANF mothers of infants to be able to stay home, as
is the policy already in a couple of states.
However, the politically easiest policy change would be to count
breastfeeding as a medical condition, like the pregnancy it is a
continuation of. TANF mothers are exempted from having to work to get
their small benefits, while they are pregnant or otherwise
incapacitated.
(Hey, if this policy were really adopted, wouldn't it be cool if it
actually RAISED breastfeeding rates in welfare moms, who are
typically a very low-rate group)?!
I have a few questions for this group:
1. Can you tell me about existing situations where breastfeeding is
framed as a medical condition, eg to get insurance reimbursement for
LC visits and pumps? Is there a downside to "medicalizing" this very
healthy function?
2. I'm going to suggest in my paper that, if a state requires "proof"
of breastfeeding, that they pay for a lactation consultant visit, and
her report would serve as the necessary documentation. BUT that
raises the specter of LC's as cops! ie, what if the mother is NOT
lactating, or lactating sufficiently to "show off" for the LC? Yikes!
Any suggestions or thoughts?
3. Obviously not just welfare mothers, but ALL mothers of infants
should be "exempted" from having to work, AT LEAST while they are
breastfeeding. All the "civilized" countries provide paid family
leave for many months. Here in California, we have just added a few
weeks of paid leave thru an add-on to the disability insurance
program. It's a start. Do you have other suggestions on how this
might happen?
Thanks SO much!
Tina
At 5:38 PM -0400 8/18/03, Karen Kerkhoff Gromada, MSN, RN, IBCLC wrote:
>I'm trying to imagine having to return to work when I had young
>twins and my preschoolers -- ugh.
»@«*´`*»@«*´`*»@«*´`*´¯`·.¸¸ ¸¸.·´¯`*´`*»@«*´`*»@«*´`*»@«
Tina Kimmel, MSW, MPH
PhD Program, UC Berkeley School of Social Welfare
"Every child wanted, nurtured, protected, and loved = world peace in
one generation".
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