Cindy Curtis,RN,IBCLC
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http://www.erols.com/cindyrn
----- Original Message -----
From: Ravnitzky, Gail <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wednesday, August 04, 1999 5:44 PM
Subject: update on lactation event today at the Capitol


> To: Interested Parties
> From: Gail Ravnitzky
> Legislative Director for Rep. Carolyn Maloney
> Date: August 4, 1999
> RE: Follow up from the event today at the Capitol
> THANKS   THANKS   THANKS   THANKS
>
> On Wednesday, August 4, at 12 noon, mothers and children gathered at the
> U.S. Capitol to celebrate World Breastfeeding Week and to thank Congress
for
> its work thus far to pass the Right to Breastfeed Act allowing
breastfeeding
> on federal property.
>
> IN ATTENDANCE
> U.S. Reps. Carolyn B. Maloney, Christopher Shays, Connie Morella, and
> Lucille Roybal-Allard all spoke at the press conference.  Feel free to
send
> any or all of these representatives a thank you for their work on this
issue
> (most helpful if you live in their districts).
>
> ALSO IN ATTENDANCE
> USDA Undersecretary Shirley Watkins and Dr. Michal Ann Young who
represented
> the American Academy of Pediatrics.
>
> MEDIA
> We had several media outlets covering the story, including:  Associated
> Press (AP), USA Today, Bloomberg Radio, FOX NEWS network, The Hill,
> Washington Radio, New Haven Register, and Reuters.  Reuters and AP have
each
> filed a story on the event.  Many local papers around the country will
> likely run a story from one of these wire services.  In fact, feel free to
> call your local papers and let them know that they can run the AP or
Reuters
> stories.  And be on the lookout for these stories.
>
> BIG GIANT THANK YOUS
> *especially to Paulette Roberts and Noel Marie Taylor for sharing their
> stories of being told to stop breastfeeding at the National Gallery of Art
> and the National Museum of Natural History.
> *also to all the moms who came out to the event (and all the "wee
> lobbyists").  YOU made this legislative victory happen, and I hope you
know
> that we coudln't have done it without you.  THANKS AGAIN!
> *finally, a big thank you to all of the advocates who have worked so hard
on
> this issue.  We also could not have done this without you.
>
> Congrats and thanks to all!   gail
>
> Here are 3 stories on this ALREADY today:
>
> > cq-Subject: CQ MIDDAY UPDATE, 8-4-99 (Congressional Quarterly)
> > Wee lobbyists toting signs saying "I Love Mommy Milk" descended on the
> > Capitol today to back legislation to protect their rights to nurse on
> > federal property. Female lawmakers have attached provisions to spending
> > bills in the House that would guarantee women the right to breast feed
in
> > national parks, museums and other federal sites. Mothers of the lobbying
> > tots told of being expelled from federal property for feeding their
> > babies.
> >
> > Little U.S. Capitol lobbyists back mothers' milk
> >     By Joanne Kenen
> >       WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Some extremely small lobbyists
> >     carrying signs saying ``I Love Mommy Milk'' descended on
> >     the U.S. Capitol Wednesday to back legislation protecting
> >     their rights to nurse on federal property.
>       A group of mostly female lawmakers successfully attached
> >     provisions to two annual spending bills in the House
> >     guaranteeing women the right to breast feed in national
> >     parks, museums and other federal sites.
> >     Noting that fellow politicians are not likely to take a
> >     public stance against mothers' milk, the bill sponsors
> >     expect the measures to be accepted by the Senate as well
> >     before the year is out.
> >       Mothers of some of the little lobbyists told a news
> >     conference about being threatened or expelled from federal
> >     property when discreetly feeding their babies.
> >       Noel Marie Taylor said a guard tried to remove her from
> >     Washington's Museum of Natural History because ``there is
> >     no food or drink allowed'' although another woman nearby
> >     was bottle-feeding her child.
> >       Paulette Roberts said a guard in the National Gallery of
> >     Art tried to evict her, saying she was ``ruining the
> >     viewing pleasure of gallery patrons.''
> >       Roberts noted that she had draped her clothes around to
> >     make sure she was not exposed, while the gallery itself was
> >     full of huge canvases of naked women.
> >       She said several women who overheard her confrontation with
> >     the guard clapped in support, and two of them offered to
> >     stand in front of her to shield her from public view. Her
> >     son Raphael finished nursing before the guard carried out
> >     his threat.
>      Carolyn Maloney, a New York Democrat who co-sponsored the
> >     legislation, said she was not aware how widespread the
> >     problem was until she got a few complaints and started
> >     looking into it. In one case, she said, a woman was thrown
> >     out of a national park because rangers told her breast milk
> >     attracted bees.
> >     ^REUTERS@ Reut13:28 08-04-99
> >     REUTEviaNewsEDGE
> >     KEYWORDS: CONGRESS-BREASTFEEDING
> >     Copyright (c) 1999 Reuters
> >     Received by NewsEdge Insight: 08/04/1999 13:27:55
> >
> AM-NY--Breast-Feeding, Bjt,585
> Legislation permits breast feeding on federal property
> Eds: Michal in 16th graf is cq
> By SHANNON McCAFFREY=
> Associated Press Writer=
>    WASHINGTON (AP) _ Noel Marie Taylor says she was shocked when on
> a family outing to the Museum of Natural History, a guard told her she had
> to stop breast feeding her child or leave.
> The guard, she said, told her no food or drink was allowed on the
> premises.
>    Under legislation sailing through Congress, Ms. Taylor's dilemma
> may soon be a thing of the past. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Carolyn
> Maloney, D-N.Y., allows for breast-feeding on federal property and in
> national parks.
>    Maloney says it's part of a push to make breast-feeding _ which
> has been shown to have numerous health benefits for children _ socially
> acceptable.
>    ``It is unthinkable that women would be stopped from doing the
> most natural thing in the world, feeding their baby,'' Maloney said
> Wednesday at a Capitol Hill news conference packed with strollers and
> scampering children. The event was billed as a ``Lactation Celebration.''
> Ms. Taylor's 4-year-old, Maura, hoisted aloft a sign saying ``I Love Mommy
> Milk.''
>    Ms. Taylor, of Columbia Md., said she was discreetly feeding a
> 10-month-old Maura when she was confronted by a museum guard in 1995. She
> says she worries similar incidents might discourage mothers from ever
> breast-feeding.
>    ``If I had been less confident about breast-feeding imagine what
> would have happened. I might have stopped all together,'' she said.
>    David Umansky, director of communications for the Smithsonian,
> said the institution has no prohibition on breast-feeding and had no
record
> of the incident Ms. Taylor described as having occurred.
> The Smithsonian runs the Museum of Natural History in Washington.
>    Paulette Roberts told of a similar experience at the National
> Gallery in Washington where she stood in front of paintings of nude
> women and, ironically enough, mothers breast-feeding children as a guard
> told her she was ruining the museum experience for other visitors.
>    ``The guard told me other patrons would find breast-feeding
> offensive,'' Ms. Roberts, a Washington D.C. resident, said.
>    Deborah Ziska, spokeswoman for the National Gallery, said the
> incident was ``probably a misunderstanding.'' She said guards at the
museum
> have been made aware that breast-feeding is permissible.
>    But Maloney said the problem appeared to be widespread and her
> office has received numerous phone calls from women with tales of being
> asked to leave federal buildings, including the U.S. Capitol, and national
> parks.
>    ``There shouldn't even be a need for this legislation, but I
> think it's pretty clear there is,'' she said.
>    The breast-feeding rights act is contained in appropriations
> bills that have passed in the House of Representatives. The Senate
> is expected to support the legislation as well, Maloney said Wednesday.
>    Twenty-four states, including New York, have legislation
> providing some protections for breast-feeding mothers, according to
> data compiled by Maloney's office.
>    Dr. Michal Ann Young, of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said
> children who are breast-fed appear to be healthier on average than other
> children.
>    But despite the health benefits, the United States still has one
> of the lowest breast-feeding rates with 54 percent of new mothers
> breast-feeding when they leave the hospital. In other
> industrialized nations the rate is much higher, she said.
>    ``Many (American) women are still uncomfortable with it and we
> need to work on that,'' Young said.
>    AP-ES-08-04-99 1636EDT
>
>
>
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