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Evan, When did you stop breastfeeding?...Jim

How do you enter the contest?

Evan, thank you for posting this. It is so important for public officials to acknowledge and support the value of breastfeeding. I wlll always be grateful to support groups like La Leche League that were so helpful when my children were born in the 1970's and 80's.

I'm proud that my daughter Monica Marshall is the manager at Mother's Guild, a store that offers products and services that support breastfeeding.

Mothers Guild
2040 E Main St Ste D
Ventura, CA 93001-3506
Phone: (805) 667-2115

Suza- can you explain why:
"It is so important for public officials to acknowledge and support the value of breastfeeding", with emphasis on "public officials"?

In response to Comment #4:

Public Officials shape and pass policies that influence the rate of breastfeeding throughout the United States.

The health of our Nation is one of our most important resources. Breastfeeding, a relatively basic, simple, and cost -effective practce, can have a significant impact on establishing the foundation for a lifetime of optimal health and can result in reduced health care spending. In recognition of this, public officials in cities nationwide are stepping forth to support policies that support breastfeeding.

The percentage of women who breastfeed their babies in the United States reflects policies that discourage breasfeeding:

"Healthy People 2010" is a national initiative to increase health among Americans by the year 2010. That document uses the following 1998 percentages as baseline data for mothers who are breastfeeding at three different points in time:

In early postpartum period 64%
At 6 months 29%
At 1 year 16%

Rates of exclusive breastfeeding at 6 months of age:

All infants 9.5%
Non-Hispanic White 10.9%
Non-Hispanic Black 4.2%
Mexican American 7.1%
Other 11.5%

It is the goal of the Center for Disease Control to increase breastfeeding rates in the United States and to promote optimal breastfeeding practices. It is the consensus of breastfeeding professionals nationwide that this goal can be achieved by supporting breastfeeding in the family, through places of work, among health care providers, in the community, and throughout society.

I will list sources and more information in a moment.

Here is part two in response to the anonymous person who asked why public officials should support breastfeeding.

A link that gives a 50 State Summary of Breastfeeding Laws:

http://www.ncsl.org/programs/health/breast50.htm

A link to the Department of Health and Human Services
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

http://www.cdc.gov/breastfeeding/policies/index.htm

I'm sure one of the reasons I am screwed up is because I wasn't breastfed.
However I'm not sure I would have wanted a "public official" suggesting to my mother that she breastfeed me.
Is there any other way to encourage breastfeeding?

Comment #7, I'm happy to explain once more that public officials create policies that either encourage or discourage breastfeeding.

I understand your concern that "I'm not sure I would have wanted a "public official" suggesting to my mother that she breastfeed me."

By the same token, would you want a "public official" suggesting that your mother NOT breastfeed you?

Laws that make it illegal to breastfeed at work or in public places are one of the many factors in modern society that discourage mothers from nursing their babies.

If you read the material cited above, I think you will understand.

You asked, "Is there any other way to encourage breastfeeding?"

Yes. Definitely. The encouragement of other experienced mothers, friends, family members, doctors, other health professionals, helps.
Visit: www.breastfeedventura.org

Comment #7, After I turned off my computer I realized I had not responded to your comment, "I'm sure one of the reasons I am screwed up is because I wasn't breastfed."

No one is suggesting this!

I think it is important to be respectful and understanding of every mother's personal decision and help them to give their children the nurturing they need to realize their full potential.

The most important thing is to be supportive of all mothers and give them the honor and respect they deserve.

Is there any other way to encourage breastfeeding?

Watch women's beach volleyball!!

Laws that make it illegal to breastfeed at work or in public places...
what? please provide evidence.

Breastfeeding in Public Is a Basic Civil Right

As nursing mothers celebrate World Breastfeeding Week, a women's rights attorney says more states need to pass laws specifically protecting this natural practice that benefits infants, mothers and thus the community.

Exposed breasts. They are all over the media: in movies, magazines, even television. But put a nursing infant anywhere near those breasts and suddenly some people are offended.

Just last month the California Women's Law Center staged a nurse-in with more than 70 breastfeeding mothers at the Santa Monica Place Mall after a mall security guard told a woman she was being "indecent" while nursing her infant in the food court.

In December, a woman nursing in a restaurant at a Las Vegas casino was told that she would need to "go somewhere more private." And in March, a woman was denied entrance to a public zoo in Orange County, Calif., because she intended to breastfeed on a bench inside the zoo and the attendant feared that "children might see."

In June 2001, a woman in San Mateo, Calif., was asked to stop breastfeeding at a public pool. She was told that her actions violated public health codes and constituted indecent exposure and nudity. Pool staff later informed her that they were afraid her breast milk "might infect the pool water."

What many people do not know is that breastfeeding in public is legal in every state. A mother does not need to "cover up" or go somewhere more private. More than half of states have laws specifically protecting this right, but even in those that do not, it is still legal to breastfeed in public.

Breastfeeding laws fall generally into two categories. Some states simply exclude breastfeeding in public from the state's criminal laws regarding indecent exposure or obscenity, so that a woman cannot be charged criminally for nursing in public. In these states, a woman who is harassed for breastfeeding in public can sue under other laws, such as those prohibiting sex discrimination in places of public accommodation.

Other states, such as New York and California, offer stronger protection in the form of civil statutes protecting a woman's right to breastfeed in public. Under these laws, mothers may sue for civil rights violations if they are prevented from breastfeeding in public. Federal law also protects nursing mothers, although it only ensures them the right to breastfeed in public if they are on federal property.

Recognizing that discrimination against nursing mothers is a national issue with implications for our country's health, the American Medical Association in May adopted a resolution urging states to pass legislation protecting a mother's right to breastfeed in public. But any legislation passed should not merely make nursing in public an exception to a state's obscenity or indecent exposure laws, but should guarantee breastfeeding as a civil right.

Breastfeeding Adds to Mothers and Infants Health
When someone asks a woman to cover-up during breastfeeding or move to someplace more private, it is often because this person is sexualizing the act of breastfeeding rather than viewing it as a natural, nurturing act. What people do not realize is that many infants cannot eat while covered up and a nursing mother should not be made to feel embarrassed for feeding her child.

Too many women have been made to feel this way, including one woman who was asked to stop breastfeeding in the children's section of a Borders Books and Music store in Glendale, Calif. In 1999, the California Women's Law Center sued Borders on behalf of this nursing mother. Borders settled and agreed to educate its employees about the right to breastfeed in public.

Even after the Borders case, many people continue to harass breastfeeding mothers. Unfortunately, in states with no laws about breastfeeding in public, individual courts will determine the extent of a nursing mother's right.

For example, in Derungs v. Wal-Mart Stores Inc., a district court in Ohio held that discrimination against breastfeeding women is not sex discrimination in violation of Ohio's public accommodation laws. Ohio currently has no law protecting a woman's right to breastfeed in public and, so while a woman still has the right to do so, it is not illegal for someone to harass her for doing so.

Breastfeeding Should Be Encouraged, Not Hidden
Too often forgotten in discussions about the right to breastfeed in public is the reason women choose to breastfeed. In addition to strengthening the bond between mothers and their babies, breastfeeding offers significant health benefits for the child. Babies who are breastfed have lower rates of meningitis, childhood leukemia and other cancers, diabetes, respiratory illnesses, bacterial and viral infections, diarrheal illnesses, allergies and obesity. For these reasons, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that breastfeeding continue for at least 12 months.

Moreover, breastfeeding offers significant health benefits to nursing mothers, including reduced risks of breast and other types of cancers, as well as osteoporosis.

As a society, we must support mothers who are contributing to the well being of our nation by breastfeeding. Asking a breastfeeding mother to nurse in a bathroom or cover herself up is an unnecessary barrier to breastfeeding and the mere fear of such intervention causes many mothers to either never begin breastfeeding or to prematurely wean their infants.

The California Women's Law Center is committed to protecting a mother's right to breastfeed in public. Our hope is that through education and legislation, nursing mothers will be treated with respect and more women will be encouraged to engage in this very nurturing act.

For more information:
California Women's Law Center:
http://www.cwlc.org/

La Leche League International:
http://www.lalecheleague.org

Breastfeeding Taskforce of Greater Los Angeles:
http://www.breastfeedingtaskforla.org/

(By Nancy M. Solomon
Woman's Enews commentator. Nancy M. Solomon is the senior staff attorney at the California Women's Law Center, which works to secure justice for women and girls by ensuring, through systemic change, that life opportunities for women and girls are free from unjust social, economic and political constraints.)

50 States Summary of Breastfeeding Laws109.001 (1999) allows a woman to breastfeed in a public place. ... other than a toilet stall, in close proximity to the work place for this activity. ...
www.ncsl.org/programs/health/breast50.htm - 81k -

Most states now have some form of legislation (laws) protecting the basic human right to breastfeed. Unfortunately, despite protective laws, mothers and babies who breastfeed “in public” still face obstacles and negative reactions. Legislation reflects social acceptance of breastfeeding as a “normal” activity, concern for the health and well-being of children, and the importance of breastfeeding as a public health issue.

Laws supporting breastfeeding mothers who return to work serve a dual purpose: they not only encourage employers to support their employees, they also encourage mothers to continue breastfeeding after returning to work. Such laws support the economic goals of employers and employees as well as the well-being of mothers and children.

To Comment #1
Evan is such a healthy boy, because I am still breastfeeding him - that's why he doesn't get cold's much, and has such a strong immune system. Besides, I still love it!

Suza,
Breastfeeding rights would be such a thoughtful and nourishing campaign platform for city council!

Wow! What a great idea! We could all wear OJAI SUCKLES campaign buttons!

Tyler, thank you for keeping us all abreast on this subject.

Jim (comment #1): i was breastfed until i was 3 months old. relevance? how long for you?

"Mom" (comment #15): as it turns out, i DO have a very strong immune system and rarely get sick! but using breastfeeding as a veiled insult isn't very constructive...so, no thanks for that.

Evan, I still am.
Thanks for asking...Jim

Thanks, Suza, for providing the education you have here.. many people are not aware of the health, economic, and environmental benefits. The US Dept of Health and Human Services is now advocating that all business become lactation-friendly for health and profit!

Go to www.breastfeedventura.org to nominate an employer, governmental agency or childcare provider for the Breastfeeding Friendly Workplace Awards. We just completed this year's awards and will take nominations again next July.

Data collection reveals that many women who intend to breastfeed DO initiate breastfeeding at birth. However the drop-off rate in the first three months is substantial due to high intervention birth practices, poor support for the return to work, and lack of good support and education to overcome early challenges.

The Ojai Valley has a wonderful resource that's FREE- the Ojai Breastfeeding Helpline
805-646-5865. This is a project associated with the Nan Tolbert Nurturing Center (www.birthresource.org)

I also facilitate a FREE support group in Ventura (Mothers Guild ph. 667-2115) each Monday morning where we sit with 10 - 14 moms and babies sharing, learning and supporting through this amazing journey of feeding and loving a new one. This is a way of creating community for new moms, woman-to-woman and mother-to-mother that has had the species survive- sitting and sharing wisdom in circle together.

Wow! lactating-businesses for health and profit. These truely are heady times in which we live!!!

Everyone should be paid a living wage for their services. Or would you support the multi-national-for-profit formula companies? When my baby was born the hospital sent me home with a months supply of Similac and a booklet on the benefits of bottlefeeding.

Renee,
As a husband, father,and buddhist are there ways I to can experience the joys of lactation? At work?
Namaste',Al

it's a bittersweet kind of laughter that i experience when the very peculiar and nuanced kind of comments that seem to surround breastfeeding begin to surface.

do we think this is silly? are we bitter? are we afraid?

do we think this is silly? are we bitter? are we afraid?

And, perhaps:

Are we not getting any?
Are we 12 years old?
Are we, in some barely describable & definable way, jealous of something and/or someone?
Do we have an unnatural fascination with things we weren't allowed to see or talk about when we were growing up?

Phalrope o’phalrope...Your nipples resemble apricots.
your biceps are sheathed,
forearm turned palm up, vulnerable,
sinew attached to bone, etcetera.
By not flirting, the glissando of your speech
rings both with sex and the nature of God.

nipples resembling apricots? biceps sheathed? annymouse, have you met phalarope?
You must be thinking of Kenley...

August 11, 2008,

Most Moms Give Up on Breast-Feeding

Three out of four new moms try breast-feeding over the bottle, but most of them have quit by the time the baby reaches six months, a new study shows.

Breast or bottle?

A report from Brigham Young University shows only 36 percent of babies are breast-fed through six months. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends breast-feeding through the first year.

The data are based on a weighted sample of more than 60,000 children, collected from national immunization surveys compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Although the data are focused on childhood immunization rates, questions also were asked about breast-feeding, giving the researchers a representative sample of nursing patterns in the United States.

The researchers found that children who were most likely to be breast-fed for more than six months typically had mothers with higher levels of education and income. Married women and those who lived in Western states were also more likely to breast-feed. Hispanic women and women born in other countries were also more likely to breast-feed.

Returning to work, being a smoker or living in the Northeast decreased the likelihood of long-term breast-feeding. Notably, low-income women who participated in the subsidized Women, Infants and Children program, which provides food, milk and formula to mothers and young children, were also more likely to stop breast-feeding sooner.

“Breast-feeding promotion programs encourage women to start but don’t provide the support to continue,” said Renata Forste, co-author of the report, published in the August issue of the Journal of Human Lactation.

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/08/11/most-moms-give-up-on-breast-feeding/