Hi all! I'm among the "lurkers" who subscribe to
LACNET. I hope to join the professional ranks within
the next 20 years or so. :o) In the meantime, thanks
for the great knowledge you all share! I found this
article Friday on the APWire site, and thought you
might like to see it as well. (www.wire.ap.org)
Nicole
Legislators Remember Moms With Laws
By DAVID CRARY
AP National Writer
NEW YORK (AP) — In a nation that values motherhood
even ahead of apple pie, politicians have found a way
to show they're pro-mom — passing bill after bill
defending and promoting breast-feeding.
Lawmakers in a half-dozen states have been working on
breast-feeding bills this year. Since 1994, when New
York enacted a groundbreaking breast-feeder's rights
law, 30 legislatures and Congress have approved some
type of measure supporting nursing mothers.
It is a cause that can unite left-leaning feminists
with conservatives. Often, the bills have little or no
opposition.
Yet breast-feeding proponents, even as they welcome
the legislation, say the United States still lags
woefully behind most other nations in encouraging the
practice.
``As a society, we associate the breast with something
sexual rather than with a basic act of nurture,'' said
Elizabeth Baldwin, a Miami attorney who monitors
breast-feeding legislation.
The recent laws fall into four basic categories:
—Many clarify that women have a right to breast-feed
in public, stipulating that the practice doesn't
violate indecency laws and in some cases outlawing
discrimination against nursing mothers;
—Other measures encourage employers to accommodate
nursing mothers at the workplace by providing time and
private space for them to nurse or pump milk;
—Some states have exempted nursing mothers from jury
duty;
—Three states — Maine, Michigan and Utah — now require
courts to consider breast-feeding as a factor in
determining post-divorce child-custody and visitation
arrangements.
Both chambers of the Washington state legislature
approved a bill this spring exempting breast-feeding
women from the state's indecent-exposure law.
Louisiana's House of Representatives unanimously
passed a similar measure after hearing of
breast-feeding mothers ordered to leave shopping
malls.
``We're not trying to set up fines or create a breast
police,'' said Sandra Adams, executive director of the
Louisiana Maternal and Child Health Coalition. ``We
just want to say Louisiana supports breast-feeding.''
In Washington, a Republican state senator offered an
amendment stating that a mother nursing in public
should cover her breast.
``This is not a Third World country,'' said Pam Roach.
``We do have social mores to uphold.'' But her
amendment was rejected on a voice vote.
Not every bill prevails. In Maryland, a dozen mothers
staged a ``nurse-in'' at the statehouse in March to
protest a legislative committee's rejection of a
breast-feeding bill. Opponents said the measure wasn't
needed because there was no law against nursing in
public.
Georgia passed legislation in 1999 asserting that a
mother can breast-feed a baby anywhere, provided she
acts in ``a discreet and modest way.'' Breast-feeding
advocates dislike that qualifier and are trying to
delete it.
The most contentious proposals involve breast-feeding
mothers who work.
California's Chamber of Commerce, worried about the
cost of compliance for small businesses, has opposed a
pending bill that would require businesses to provide
clean, private facilities and unpaid breaks for
mothers to pump breast milk during work. Violators
would face a $100 fine.
``We should not be forcing new moms to sneak into
supply closets and restroom stalls to fulfill the
nutritional needs of their babies,'' said Assemblyman
Dare Former, D-Los Angeles, the bill's sponsor.
In Congress, breast-feeding supporters have
temporarily abandoned efforts to guarantee unpaid
break time so working mothers can breast-feed. But
Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., is pressing ahead with a
measure that would amend the Pregnancy Discrimination
Act to specify that breast-feeding is a protected
civil right.
Health experts say breast milk is the best nourishment
for newborns, although only 29 percent of American
mothers breast-feed their babies until the infants are
6 months old.
Some mothers complain of workplace harassment. A
former bartender at a Hooters restaurant in Kissimmee,
Fla., filed suit last month, accusing managers of
mocking her for pumping breast milk.
But Tara Estrella of Pacifica, Calif., now nursing her
18-month-old daughter, Leila, says public attitudes
have improved since she breast-fed her first-born
daughter almost 12 years ago.
``The reaction now is kind of nice,'' she said. ``I
don't hear too much negativity.''
-----
Some facts and figures on breast-feeding:
—About 64 percent of American women breast-feed during
their infants' first weeks of life. That's up from 50
percent a decade ago, but short of a federal goal of
75 percent.
—Only 29 percent of all mothers, and only 19 percent
of black mothers, breast-feed until their babies are 6
months old.
—The government's new goal: By 2010, at least half of
mothers will breast-feed exclusively until infants
reach 6 months, and at least 25 percent will continue
breast-feeding until the baby's first birthday.
—Health benefits for breast-fed babies include fewer
illnesses such as diarrhea, earache and pneumonia, and
a reduced risk of asthma and diabetes.
—For mothers, long-term breast-feeding may lower the
risk of getting breast cancer.
———
Source: The Surgeon General's Office
———
On the Net: La Leche League:
http://www.lalecheleague.org
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