Hot Topic (1/16): Breastfeeding - here, there and everywhere?

[Cafe GroupAdmin]

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 70 percent of mothers start breastfeeding immediately after birth, but less than 20 percent of those moms are breastfeeding exclusively six months later. It is a national goal to increase the proportion of mothers who breastfeed their babies in the early postpartum period to 75 percent by the year 2010.  

• Forty-three states, the District of Columbia and the Virgin Islands have laws with language specifically allowing women to breastfeed in any public or private location (Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Washington and Wyoming).

• Twenty-eight states, the District of Columbia and the Virgin Islands exempt breastfeeding from public indecency laws (Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming).

• Twenty-four states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico have laws related to breastfeeding in the workplace (Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and Wyoming).

• Twelve states and Puerto Rico exempt breastfeeding mothers from jury duty (California, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Oregon and Virginia).

• Five states and Puerto Rico have implemented or encouraged the development of a breastfeeding awareness education campaign (California, Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri and Vermont).

Several states have unique laws related to breastfeeding. For instance,

• The state of Virginia allows women to breastfeed on any land or property owned by the state.  Puerto Rico requires shopping malls, airports, public service government centers and other select locations to have accessible areas designed for breastfeeding and diaper changing that are not bathrooms.

• At least two states have laws related to child care facilities and breastfeeding.  Louisiana prohibits any child care facility from discriminating against breastfed babies. Mississippi requires licensed child care facilities to provide breastfeeding mothers with a sanitary place that is not a toilet stall to breastfeed their children or express milk, to provide a refrigerator to store expressed milk, to train staff in the safe and proper storage and handling of human milk, and to display breastfeeding promotion information to the clients of the facility.

• California requires the Department of Public Health to develop a training course of hospital policies and recommendations that promote exclusive breastfeeding and specify staff for whom this model training is appropriate.  The recommendation is targeted at hospitals with exclusive patient breastfeeding rates ranked in the lowest twenty-five percent of the state

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Should every state have laws allowing women to breastfeed at any time, in any location?  (What about restaurants?  Parks?  Schools?)

Should workplaces be required to provide a time and place for breastfeeding mothers to pump?

How long is too long to breastfeed, in your opinion? 

[Proudbirthmom06]

I believe their should be laws, honestly because breasts were created for breastfeeding and babies have to eat. Mothers who exclusively breast feed should be allowed to do so where ever they choose to do it. I also think workplaces should provide places for mothers to pump. And as far as how long is too long, I feel it's up to the mother of that child to decide how long she wants to breast feed her child.

[tericared]

Should every state have laws allowing women to breastfeed at any time, in any location?  (What about restaurants?  Parks?  Schools?)

Yes, you can breast feed without showing the world your boobs....

Should workplaces be required to provide a time and place for breastfeeding mothers to pump?

Yes, if she needs to pump while at work she needs a place to do it, and not he bathroom. Would you fix your dinner in there?

How long is too long to breastfeed, in your opinion? 

Depends on Mom and baby....I do think it gets a little much after a year or so...

[2boys2love79]

I'm very pro-breastfeeding, and I think it should be protected, but I also think it's maybe one of those things that the free-market would take care of.  Establishments that allow for public breastfeeding may find themselves with more business because of it.  Same with workplaces.  Businesses that offer "mom-friendly" policies would more than likely have more qualified people vying for jobs if they felt they no longer had to choose between being a mom and working.  Not to mention taking a lot of stress off mothers (I personally had to choose between pumping in a bathroom or pumping in my car) would give more productive employees.

As to how long is too long?  From what I understand, globally the average age is like 4, but this is America and we just plain don't do that, so while I support you nursing as long as you can, I'd say past two is a little weird, but that's just me personally.

[Randi02]

Of course! It's feeding a baby, and the comfort of my child is much more important to me than the comfort of some ignorant bystander. I have nursed in restaurants, parks, while walking around the mall or grocery store etc. (with my baby in a wrap, no one even notices)

Workplaces should be required to provide time to pump, unless maternity leave could be extended. Here in Canada, we get a year of paid leave. I am a SAHM, but it's nice for moms to have their place held while staying home for that year and not having to worry about pumps etc.

As for how long is too long... The natural weaning age for humans is 2.5 years to 7 years. The recommended MINIMUM is 2 years. I am nursing my second child now, and she is 22 months. She has been nursing less because I am pregnant, but if she's still nursing when this baby comes I will tandem. I believe child led weaning is the way to go : )

[Amybelle]

Should every state have laws allowing women to breastfeed at any time, in any location?  (What about restaurants?  Parks?  Schools?)

YES YES YES!!!! whenever, where ever, there is NOTHING offensive about BFing

Should workplaces be required to provide a time and place for breastfeeding mothers to pump?

Yes

How long is too long to breastfeed, in your opinion?   

As long as mother & child want to, so to each their own

 

[julls04]

i dont breastfeed but women who do dont bother me its only natural. you dont get anymore natural than that. i think women should be allowed to breast feed in public in every state

[home-sweet-home]

Should every state have laws allowing women to breastfeed at any time, in any location?  (What about restaurants?  Parks?  Schools?)

Yes, anywhere the mother and baby are allowed to be, they should be allowed to feed the baby. 

Should workplaces be required to provide a time and place for breastfeeding mothers to pump?

Yes, definitely. Now if it is a small office, I do not think a small company should had to build another room for mom to pump, but they should provide breaks and a quiet location. I actually had a part in the Oklahoma law allowing women breaks for pumping. We had several Walmart employees that were told they could not have a break in the full 8  hour shift for pumping. (They could not leave because there was only the one pharmasist.) Now they close the pharmacy down for 15 minutes for their break, course now I have to wait sometimes, but it is worth it lol!

How long is too long to breastfeed, in your opinion?

After mom and baby no longer want to. Like the pp said, the World Health Organization recommends nursing AT LEAST 2 years. I weaned my first two at a year because I was told by the doctor I was supposed to. By number 3 I was a LC and knew better. He self weaned at 21 months (but I know wonder if it was his regression into autism at 12 months that did it.) Then Chloe self weaned at 28 months. I wanted at least two years and I started encouraging, offering a cup when she asked to nurse, but never refused if she wanted it. One day she just did not want it.

[jlizgar]

America is one of the only countries in the world with such an issue with breastfeeding, if you go abroad to almost any other country you will see women breastfeeding, in public, usually without covering up and no one bats an eye about it because its a normal part of their society...just like it ought to be here!

Wether you want to think of humans as animals or not, fact is, we are animals...mammals and we have mammary glands to feed our babies with, that is THE reason we have breast...just because they can serve another purpose (being sexual objects) doesnt mean the main use of them needs to be hidden or ostracized because some people have hangups.

Babys need to eat, sometimes its not healthy or practical to schedule feedings around when a mom will be at home or at a place where she can have total privacy....I say a woman should be able to BF anywhere! anytime her baby is hungry....no one has to look if they dont want to see, even if you are sitting right next to a BFing woman, you can avert your eyes if you dont like what you see.....I have to do it all the time! I see women dressed like skanks everytime I leave my house and I just choose to look the other way and not give them the attention they are seeking.

[IhartU]

 

Should every state have laws allowing women to breastfeed at any time, in any location?  (What about restaurants?  Parks?  Schools?)

Yes, as long as their entire breast is not exposed.

Should workplaces be required to provide a time and place for breastfeeding mothers to pump?

Yes, but only if they are not getting more breaks than the other employees in order to pump.

How long is too long to breastfeed, in your opinion? 

I think by the time they go to Kindergarten, they should not be breast feeding.

[LuvNMyBbs]

I don't think there should be any restrictions on nursing in public.  If you are allowed to be there you should be allowed to feed your child there.  Most women are very discreet and even if you have a woman exposing her breast it will be a very small minority.  Yes, I think women should be allowed to pump and if the work space allows a private place to do it.  As for how long a woman should nurse it is a very personal decision.  I thought my neighbor was a little strange because her son was still nursing at 2 and 1/2.  I planned on weaning my daughter around a year, the same way I did with my son.  We moved and it was a simple and effective way to calm her down and reassure her so I continued until I felt like she was secure in our new environment.  By then she was two.  She refused to wean at that point and I didn't see a valid reason to force her.  I nursed until my daughter was 27 months.  There were times when it felt awkward because she was so big but the nursing itself felt very normal.  She quit when she was ready and ultimately I am glad I let her make the decision.  Anyone who is willing to nurse, regardless of the legnth of time should have the support necessary to do so.