coverage continues.  first article is pretty much the same as we have already seen, the second related article has local content.
Janice.

http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050731/LIFE/507310307

July 31, 2005

'Lactivists' seek respect for moms who nurse in public

BY TAMARA IKENBERG 
GANNETT NEWS SERVICE



and also see replated article;



http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050731/LIFE/507310304



(also click on link to see interesting sidebar topics on the page)



The controversy of breast-feeding

Should you or shouldn't you do it in public?

BY ELESKA AUBESPIN 
FLORIDA TODAY 



 

Kristen Grissoms still gets upset when she thinks about what happened three years ago at an Orlando amusement park.

While sitting inside one of the park's restaurant, Grissoms was asked to leave by an employee because she was breast-feeding her then 6-month-old son, Braedan.

"A man told me he would rather me not be there," the Titusville mother of two said.

"I felt a little defensive and didn't understand what the problem was," Grissoms said, still a bit irked. "I wasn't making a spectacle of myself or doing anything wrong."

Grissoms politely informed the employee she had a legal right to nurse her son in public and would continue to do so. She also asked to speak to the employee's supervisor, but no one returned.

And that was that, until the next time she nursed in public -- sometimes with a blanket, sometimes without -- and received looks "as if I was doing something wrong or dirty."

Bonnie King, director of the Space Coast Office of Tourism in Viera, understands people's squeamishness about public breast-feeding.

"That's a part of the anatomy that we are not supposed to see and when it is showcased like that, it makes people uncomfortable," she said.

She's not against the practice. Mothers should have the right to nurse their babies, she said, but when in public, be discreet.

"You should be covered in a dignified and respectful manner and not out there for the whole world to see," said King, who breast-fed each of her two sons, Chad, 26, and Chase, 20, until they were 7 months old.

No doubt, there is a difference of opinion when it comes to breast-feeding. And how to feed the baby is a deeply personal choice for each mom.

Bottle feeding can be more convenient, and can allow dad to be more involved in taking care of the baby.

But research indicates human milk lowers the risk of childhood illnesses and chronic diseases in babies, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (www.4woman.gov). For mothers, breast-feeding also lowers the risk of breast and ovarian cancer and osteoporosis.

Advocates say while up to 70 percent of new moms attempt to nurse at least once, only 25 percent to 30 percent continue to nurse their babies until 6 months of age; less than 20 percent make it to 12 months.

To help change negative attitudes, gain more support and urge more mothers to nurse, advocates established World Breast-Feeding Week. The annual observation starts Monday and continues through Aug. 7.

"We haven't yet gotten to a place where breast-feeding is looked upon as a natural and normal part of maternal behavior," said Mary Lofton, spokeswoman for La Leche League International.

"And this is an effort to put breast-feeding in the limelight and on the agenda of organizations so more people will recognize its importance," she said.

Recently, breast-feeding in public attracted the spotlight with a publicized comment made by Barbara Walters on her ABC talk show, "The View."

On the May 17 show, Walters said the sight of a woman breast-feeding on an airplane made her uncomfortable. It sparked a "nurse-in" and more than 200 moms protested outside of ABC's New York studio while openly nursing their babies.

During the past decade, even more breast-feeding topics, and legislation that addresses them, have come to the forefront, sparked mostly by nursing mothers -- fondly called "lactivists" -- who believe their rights are being infringed upon.

"When I hear about someone being asked to leave, it makes me very angry," said Ruthy Wilson, a registered nurse and certified lactation consultant at Cape Canaveral Hospital in Cocoa Beach.

"Where would you like me to feed my baby? Go to the hot car while you enjoy your hamburger?" Wilson asked. "Or would you like me to go to the toilet seat? Would you take your lunch to the toilet?"

Nursing mothers often don't get support from their families, the public and sometimes not even the medical community, Wilson said.

"It just breaks my heart," she said.

That is slowly changing, at least in a legal sense, because of the demands of breast-feeding moms and other advocates. Thirty-four states, including Florida and New York City, have enacted legislation that protects and/or promotes breast-feeding, according to a report presented to Congress by the Congressional Research Service.

In most of these states, nursing mothers are now exempt from public nudity and indecent exposure citations and arrests. Legal changes also make it clear that a mother is allowed to breast-feed any place she has a right to be.

In addition, federal legislation signed by President Bill Clinton in 1999 makes breast-feeding legal anywhere on federal property.

Crystal Wiesehan, 21, has been breast-feeding her son, Gavin Wiesehan Busquets, since his birth on May 20.

The Rockledge resident, a first-time mom, chose to do so because of the nutritional and health values.

Wiesehan has nursed in the doctor's office, in malls and at restaurants. She usually covers up, but Gavin's hungry cry at a pool once caused her to yank up her bikini top and latch him on, without cover.

"I tried to be discreet about it," Wiesehan said. "But I was just like, 'Whatever, he needs to eat so I don't care.' "

Neither does her 19-year-old brother, Anthony Wiesehan of Port St. John. He said the younger generation tends to be more relaxed about breast-feeding.

"If the woman feels comfortable or if it's like 100 degrees outside, a mother shouldn't have to cover up the baby," Anthony said.

Candace Narmore, 44, nursed her oldest son, Curtis, 13.

But the Melbourne mother bottle-fed her daughter Catrina, 2.

"I loved the experience with my son, however, it was much easier to get assistance from family members and to put my daughter on a feeding schedule by using the bottle," Narmore said. "It also gave me more flexibility and freedom."

Narmore did avoid breast-feeding her son out in public, being a bit modest.

"The younger generation might not be so uncomfortable with breast-feeding in public, but I was brought up to be modest and discreet," she said.

The difference between the two experiences?

"I bonded with both of my children, but there was a little bit of a closeness issue that I kind of missed with Catrina," Narmore said. "But on the other hand, to bottle feed was much more convenient and whether one outweighs the other, I don't know."

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