Bully for you Marie!   Excellent response!!!!!!!!

Susan Gehrman RN, IBCLC, CCE
Battle Creek Health System
300 North Ave.
Battle Creek, Michigan 49016
Phone: 269-966-8586

Breastfeeding... A natural resource. 

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>>> Marie Ivey <[log in to unmask]> 03/17/2011 5:43 PM >>>
Dear Nikki,
Thank you for posting the link to the article about limiting the age a
child can breastfeed in public in Tennessee! I thought you and the other
Lactnetters might be interested in my response.

Senator Watson,
I was really disappointed to read your statements regarding placing a
time limit on breastfeeding in public! 

“Sen. Bo Watson, R-Hixson, raised concerns about the bill, asking
whether a 35-year-old could be considered a child. “I know that sounds
crazy, but I’m thinking about how an attorney would use this in a
situation in a bar where maybe things got a little crazy or whatever,”
Watson said. He added later that “I know I’m way out on the fringe
thinking like a 14-year-old, but weird things happen in our society.” 

http://timesfreepress.com/news/2011/mar/16/bill-would-allow-women-breastfeed-public/


I am one of the Lactation Nurses at Erlanger Hospital and I also live
in your district. As a breastfeeding advocate, I do find your remarks
juvenile and as you stated "way out on a fringe".  Unfortunately, for
lactation professionals and breastfeeding mothers, your statement is
representative of the problem with our society's over sexualization of
breasts!  Mammary glands were/are designed to feed and nourish our
young. Thank goodness our ancestors didn’t place a *time limit* on how
long they were able to feed their babies in public…or we wouldn’t be
here today. 

You might be interested in knowing the way I found out about your
remarks.  I am a member of an international lactation discussion board
for professionals. A key leader in the field of breastfeeding just posed
a link to the article…to the entire "Breastfeeding World".  Needless to
say, I am completely embarrassed that a representative from my home
state of Tennessee would make those remarks.

Just in case you aren't aware, the World Health Organization recommends
breastfeeding until at least the age of two years old and beyond. The US
Surgeon General, Dr. Regina M Benjamin, just issued a “Call to Action
to Support Breastfeeding.” 
http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2011pres/01/20110120a.html. One of the
beginning statements reads, “Many barriers exist for mothers who want
to breastfeed,” Dr. Benjamin said. “They shouldn’t have to go it
alone. Whether you’re a clinician, a family member, a friend, or an
employer, you can play an important part in helping mothers who want to
breastfeed.”  That said, one of the major barriers to breastfeeding…is
being able to breastfeed in public without ridicule and/or fear of
prosecution for indecent exposure.  

I was pleased and excited to read (in the article), “Despite some
senators fretting about “weird things” and “strange people,”
legislation to remove the current age limit for breast-feeding in public
was approved by committees of the state House and Senate on
Wednesday.”  This gives me hope that there are clear thinking
decision makers in Nashville like Sen. Mike Faulk who sponsored the
Bill.  He said, “It was wrong for government to set an “arbitrary”
limit on a matter that should be between a mother and her child.”
http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2011/mar/16/bill-opposes-age-limit-breast-feeding/
. I am aware that ultimately, you voted in favor of the bill.

Sincerely,
Marie Ivey, BSN, RN, LCCE, CLC
Chattanooga, Tennessee

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