Dia Michels announced to us all that she would be heard on the NPR
(National Public Radio) program called "Marketplace" and gave us the URL to
find out when it airs in places around the US (do you Canadians here it,
too? I often hear the Canadian equivalent of NPR programs on MY NPR
stations).

Anyway, I missed her presentation except for the last half of the last
sentence and asked her if she had the script.  She sent it to me.  I am
placing it on LACTNET (with her permission) for the edification of all.
Please note the statement about the woman who won a lawsuit when she was
denied the opportunity to breastfeed her baby while employed.

Breastfeeding: Can Working Women Do It?

Sarah Gartner:

Earlier this month, a court in Oregon awarded a woman $280,000 in damages
against her former employer.  The reason?  The company denied her time to
breastfeed her baby on the job.  Today, New York Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney
introduced "The New Mothers' Breastfeeding Promotion and Protection Act."  It
would guarantee mothers of babies up to one-year-old one hour of unpaid time
to either breastfeed or pump their milk during the workday.  It would also
grant tax credits to companies that provide lactation support.  Commentator
Dia Michels says the law is just what the doctor ordered.

Dia Michels:

Just mention breastfeeding at the office and there will be snickering galore.
Bare breasts in the boardroom!          Cashiers dripping through their blouses!

But, even though talking about breasts makes grown men giggle, breastfeeding
is not a joke.  Experts agree: breastmilk is vastly superior to infant
formula.

The good news is that two-thirds of new mothers begin breastfeeding.  The bad
news is that most quit in the first 12 weeks.  Why?  The need to return to
work leads mothers to wean their babies.  After all, how can a woman
breastfeed if she's at the office ... or on the shop floor ... 8 hours a day?

I'll tell you how.  She spends fifteen minutes a few times a day suctioning
out the milk from her breasts, then gives it to the baby sitter or day care
center.  Is it a lot of work?  No doubt.  Is it worth the effort?  Millions of
employed American women think so.

In fact, the typical breastfeeding mother is not at home all day changing
diapers.  She's more likely to be a well-paid professional whose job gives her
the privacy and flexibility to pump at the office.  What she's less likely to
be is a blue- or pink-collar worker ... secretaries, cashiers, factory workers
find it harder to get the privacy and time to pump.

So, what would happen if we gave all working women the chance to pump on the
job, or breastfeed, if their children are in nearby daycare?  Would there be
chaos? Would this act of altruism hurt the bottom line?

No.  You see, breastfed babies get sick less often than formula-fed babies, so
there is less absenteeism.  And because there is less illness, there are fewer
insurance claims.  For example, Aetna has been providing the kind of lactation
support proposed in Maloney's bill for years.  The company estimates it saves
about $1500 and three days of sick leave for each nursing mother in its
program.

Legislating breastfeeding may sound like a brave new world of politically
correct workplace regulation, but consider that new mothers are the fastest-
growing segment of today's labor force.  For the sake of those women, and
their babies, let's stop giggling and start welcoming motherhood ... and
breastfeeding ... into the workplace.

In Washington, this is Dia Michels for Marketplace.

Sarah Gartner:

Dia Michels is a science and parenting writer and author of the book, "Milk,
Money & Madness: the culture and politics of breastfeeding."


Dia, you did a GREAT job!  Let's hope this and future programs push the
Maloney bill through the US Congress (Newtie and his cronies not
withstanding!)

     mailto:[log in to unmask]

"We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly
disguised as impossible situations."
Kathleen G. Auerbach,PhD, IBCLC (Ferndale, WA USA) [log in to unmask]
For LACTNET quilt raffle: http://together.net/~kbruce/kbblact.html
WEB PAGE: http://www.telcomplus.net/kga/lactation.htm
LACTNET archives http://library.ummed.edu/lsv/archives/lactnet.html