I have been asked to speak at public hearings related to a law which has been proposed to require the employers to give breastfeeding working women an hour per day (paid) to breastfeed or express their milk for their babies. The writers of the law envisioned two 30 minute breaks in am and pm to allow this. The control includes moms having a baby less than 12 months old and that she bring in monthly a peds certification that she is still bf. I have some problems with the bill, especially the monthly Peds statements. I have been asked to speak next Monday. I attended the first hearings (there are 3 days)today and the speakers were an LLLL and a mom, then the Chamber of Commerce and the Ass't Executive Director of the Manufacturer's Association (the latter two spoke against the bill stating the cost and difficulty of scheduling - especially for small employers). The interesting point was that of the two members of the House who were sitting on the committee (due to another very controversial issue here the whole panel did not attend) one was a mom who had breastfed her 3rd child and had him on her lap for Photo Ops, and the other was so well versed in the benefits of bf and the rebuttals for the speakers of the C of C and the Manufacturer's Asst'n that I wanted to shout "hooray"! It was so funny - he asked the head of the manufacturers wouldn't it be better to allow women to have their time in order to avoid scenes which could involve women marching against a company or wearing bands to identify themselves as employees of uncooperative corporations. (Nestle here has been sued by a mom who was not allowed to pump.) So - what does the LC speak about? I ask my 1,000 closest friends? Dr. Ana Parrilla, MD, MPH and prof. for the Graduate School of Public Health will probably speak of the health benefits and the cost-savings of bf, Dr. Yvette Piovanetti, MD, FAAP will speak of the health of babies and mothers - we have a list we use based on the Breastfeeding Abstracts articles - I was told to have the statement ready by the 13th (though today's speakers handed theirs at the time they spoke) and have 20 copies to share. I was also asked by the female member to try to get moms to come. Perhaps I can speak of the difficulties moms have told me of bosses who do not permit pumping or who refuse to allow a mom time to pump (the head of the C of C did not believe this ever occurred.). I have the old Sanvita information, but Dr. Parrilla said she'd be speaking on that - any ideas? I have a summary of "the Cost of Not Breastfeeding" chart from Jacksonville, FL - where was that published? I don't have the reference! Jeanette Panchula, BSW, RN, IBCLC, LLLL (no, I won't be speaking for LLLI) [log in to unmask] Puerto Rico