A great article on working and breastfeeding in California. "It's natural,
it's healthy.... and it's the law"
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/11/07/BAGO5FJUVO1.DTL
It's natural, healthy -- and it's law
- Chip Johnson
Monday, November 7, 2005
How would you feel if your child's lunch or dinner was prepared in a
bathroom?
That's exactly how some working new mothers feel when they are directed to
the nearest bathroom whenever they have to pump milk from their breasts to
prepare their newborn's next meal.
Over the years, breast-feeding has gained such popularity that lawmakers are
increasingly recognizing a mother's right -- in essence her need -- to
express milk wherever and whenever she needs to do it.
In California, a law adopted two years ago requires employers to provide a
space -- other than a bathroom -- where nursing mothers can pump milk in
privacy, though such areas are the exception rather than the rule, advocates
said. Employers also must provide employees with break time to accomplish
the task.
Too often, the law is violated, though more often out of ignorance than
contempt.
"The law is out there, but a lot of people, including breast-feeding moms
aren't aware of those rights,'' said Pam Tellew of La Leche League, an
international breast-feeding advocacy organization started in Chicago nearly
50 years ago. The group provides support, education and a community forum
for new and expectant moms.
To promote and advance the law, the Contra Costa Breastfeeding Coalition,
which works toward widespread acceptance of one of humanity's most natural
acts, last week honored several employers that provide a safe, clean and
private environment for their nursing employees.
Two local Contra Costa County offices -- the Children and Family Services
Division and the county administration office -- as well as the Nurture
Center, a Concord business that sells maternity clothes and infant supplies,
were commended by the group for their efforts.
"We're a very small business, and when someone is pumping they get the
office,'' said Meri Levy, a co-owner of the Nurture Center.
In addition to providing a private space for employees, the Nurture Center
provides space to any breast-feeding mom, whether they are browsing through
the store or walk in off the street with a need to pump milk. The room
features four rocking chairs, an ottoman, toys for toddlers, and plenty of
pamphlets with information about breast-feeding, parenting and other topics.
But for all the comfort the Nurture Center provides, such accommodations are
rare in a workplace, never mind that it's technically against the law to
deny mothers such an environment.
Most advocates agree that enforcement of the law will be carried out by the
same breast-feeding mothers it was written to protect.
Both Tellew and Levy tell stories about mothers who had to enforce their
right with an employer or inform someone in a public setting that they have
the right to breast-feed anywhere, anytime they want.
Tellew recalled an incident a couple of years ago when a lifeguard at Six
Flags Waterworld in Concord told a new mother she'd have to go into the
bathroom to feed her child. He was straightened out. Levy told the story of
an AC Transit driver who insisted that her employers provide her with an
adequate time and place to pump milk. The company came to an agreement that
allowed her to stop in a clean, pre-designated place where she could use the
device.
The need to pump milk is not a luxury, but a necessity. When a woman who is
producing milk does not pump it or feed an infant directly, it sends a
message to the body to stop producing milk, said Nancy Hill, who heads the
Contra Costa Breastfeeding Coalition.
The organization, funded through the county health department, reaches out
to thousands of new and expectant mothers each year, she said, offering
resources, classes and training in breast-feeding as well as teaching them
their rights under the law.
And that's important at a time when about 80 percent of new mothers in
California breast-feed their children during the first six months of life.
About 40 percent nurse their children after 12 months, Hill said.
In addition to the training, it's widely accepted that mother's milk is
infinitely healthier for the child than formula.
"Formula makes babies sleep longer because it's harder to digest than
mother's milk,'' she explained. New research suggests that infants nourished
with mother's milk are less like to suffer from childhood obesity, she
added.
The law may not be universally accepted just yet, but Levy and other nursing
advocates in the Bay Area and around the country believe the day that it is
will be here sooner than most employers might expect.
"It's going to depend on employees to educate their employer, because some
don't know about it and other may try to ignore it, but it will be
implemented more and more as breast-feeding mothers return to work,'' said
Levy.
Chip Johnson's column appears on Mondays and Fridays. E-mail him at
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