I think someone from this Oregon group is on this list? ;-) Congrats!

Oregon moms will get licenses for breast-feeding


by The Associated Press

SALEM, Ore. - Breast-feeding in public never has been illegal in Oregon, but
mothers who want to nurse their babies soon will be able to carry a card
putting that privilege in print.

It's a license to breast-feed in public, and the cards are about to be
distributed by the Oregon Health Division as part of a plan to publicize a
new law that explicitly affirms the right to do so.

The cards will let women know what the law allows while giving them a line
of defense if someone hassles them for nursing their babies, said Kristin
Sasseen, the coordinator for the state Health Division's breast-feeding
awareness campaign.

On one side, the cards contain a phrase from the law: "A woman may
breast-feed her child in a public place." On the other is a phone number
women can call if they get heckled or harassed.

State health officials say the card is something a mom can whip out to show
she's not doing anything wrong, if someone asks her to nurse elsewhere.

This summer, the governor ordered all state agencies to provide
breast-feeding employees with a place to pump and store milk, as well as
unpaid break time to do so.

Meanwhile, the health division is distributing window stickers for
businesses that welcome breast-feeding moms.

But just having a card in their pocket won't be enough to help all women
overcome the self-consciousness of breast-feeding, said Sasseen.

"I do not think that women are going to say, `Oh, this is legal, so now I'm
going to throw my breasts out there,' " she said.

About 20 other states have laws to ensure the right to breast-feed in
public, although Oregon is the first to put it on a card.

Washington state has grappled over a similar law over the past couple years.
Earlier this year, a bill that would have provided space in the workplace
for women to nurse or use breast pumps to store milk for future feedings
died in the Legislature.

So far, the Oregon Health Division has had requests for about 20,000 cards,
Sasseen said.






Cindy Curtis,RN,IBCLC
mailto:[log in to unmask]
http://www.erols.com/cindyrn

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