Metro Council has yet to approve the Metro Health Department’s plans to open a new women, infants and children — or WIC — clinic at Hickory Hollow Mall.

Supporters said the mall is a perfect spot since about 14,000 people in Antioch rely on the program. The program provides nutrition education, breastfeeding support and healthy food vouchers for needy women and children

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Human rights activists and breast feeding advocates from throughout the world have boycotted the Swiss-based Nestlé Corporation since 1977 because of the millions of deaths of infants it has caused over the decades. The boycott, coordinated by groups including Baby Milk Action, International Baby Food Action Network (IBFAN) , Infant Feeding Action Coalition (INFACT) and Save the Children, was prompted by concern about the company’s marketing of breast milk substitutes (infant formula), particularly in less economically developed countries, which campaigners claim contributes to the unnecessary death and suffering of babies, largely among the poor.

Please take a moment to contact Kevin McCarty and Lauren Hammond and let them know that you want the urgency ordinance passed in time to apply to Nestlé. Contact Kevin McCarty at (916) 808-7006 or KMcCarty [at] cityofsacramento.org and Lauren Hammond at (916) 808-7005 or lhammond [at] cityofsacramento.org

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Nearly every state had a presence but New York state topped the list with 26 companies dwarfing the next state, Illinois that had seven.

Industries particularly favorable for working mothers were financial services  with 26 companies followed by health care with 20.

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For more information on the award or attending the luncheon call (209) 953-3729 or visit www.breastfeedingcoalition.org.

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Representative Carolyn B. Maloney (NY) and Senator Jeff Merkley (OR) introduced the Breastfeeding Promotion Act in both houses of Congress on 11 June. This is the first time the bill has been introduced in the Senate.
Forty-seven states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands have already implemented laws protecting breastfeeding mothers, but they are neither standardized and nor inclusive.  Please ask your Representative and Senators to co-sponsor the Breastfeeding Promotion Act to support a national policy to keep familes healthy.

The Breastfeeding Promotion Act of 2009 (H.R. 2819, S, 1244) includes five provisions:

1) Amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which protect breastfeeding women from being fired or discriminated against at work.

2)  Provides tax incentives for companies that create private lactation areas in the workplace or provide     breastfeeding equiptment or cunsultation services for their employees.

3)  Stipulates a performance standard ensuring breastpumps are safe and effective.

4)  Ensures breastfeeding equiptment and consultations are tax deductible by amending the Internal Revenue Code of the definition of medical care.

5)  Protects the privacy of breastfeeding mothers ensuring they have both breaks and a private place to pump.  (This applies to employers with 50 or more employees).

Breastfeeding is good for mothers, babies, and familes as a whole translating through our society.  Failure to breastfeed increases the baby’s risk of infections, diarrhea, SIDS, obesity, diabetes, asthma, and childhood leukemia, and increases the mother’s risk of breast and ovarian cancers and diabetes.  Breastfeeding also has significant economic and environmental benefits for families, employers, and society.  Take a look at the wealth of compelling reasons to breastfeed right here at Boobiefed.

All major medical authorities recommend that babies are breastfed exclusively for their first six months and continue to breastfeed for at least the first one to two years of life. Many mothers start off breastfeeding with good intentions but lack the support they need to make it a success.  Only 12% of U.S. mothers continue to exclusively breastfeeding at six months and only 21% are still breastfeeding at one year.

Currently, 77% of women breastfeed their infants at birth but breastfeeding rates drop rapidly once they return home from the hospital. More than 50% of women with infants less than one year old have returned to work. Working mothers are more likely to stop breastfeeding early if they do not receive the support they need in the workplace.
Together we can change this! Tell Congress to support the Breastfeeding Promotion Act to provide the support mothers need.

Take action at: http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/5162/t/6359/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=1697

The last time this act was introduced it failed to pass so let’s do everything we can to push it through this time around.

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You may remember, from reading My Story, that I struggled with low milk supply because of breast reduction surgery I’d had when I was younger.  I had such low supply that despite pumping after each feeding, I was still only able to pump two or three ounces in total a day.  This would never have been enough for him if I returned to full-time work and I probably would have kissed my nursing relationship with my son goodbye.  I am very fortunate that I was able to stay home with him and continue to nurse on demand as we do to this day.

I’m currently job hunting after about three years out of the corporate world.  Motivating my choice to stay home for so long seems to be challenging given the extended leave of absence I have taken from the work force, especially in the current economic climate.  Employers want to see company loyalty and I haven’t been able to show that for the last few years.  It got me thinking about examples of dedication and commitment in my life.  My commitment to breastfeed is a wonderful example.  I remember in the early days when Connor was about six weeks old and I was so desperate to nurse my child but couldn’t get my body to co-operate.  I nearly threw in the towel many times.  A Le Leche League Leader was on call to talk me through some of the darker days.  She told me to just to get through this feeding and I could give up after that if I liked.  Her support and words of encouragement carried me when I thought the dream of nursing my son was impossible.  There were middle of the night feeds that I did in tears calling out in frustration at the end for my husband to come and take over with a supplmental feeding because I couldn’t any more.  Despite all of this, I persevered until Connor and I found our groove.  I got the help I needed to maximize my milk supply and we found a way to make this work for both of us.  Twenty seven months down the road, Connor and I now enjoy the benefits of sticking with one another.  We both love breastfeeding so much.  He stuck with me like a champ through all the hard days until we came through the other side. 

Although your own nursing story may differ, many women struggle to breastfeed their children in the early days.  It often takes a great deal of determination and resolve to continue especially when you’re sleep deprived.  It would be so much easier just to hand the baby to daddy who can give him some formula so you can go back to sleep.  I am so glad that I didn’t give into this temptation.  What saddens me is that in an interview, my breastfeeding relationship and the commitment and dedication required are virtually irrelevant and perhaps even politically incorrect to mention.  Initially when preparing my resume, I listed Boobiefed and the work I’ve done on the site.  I was told it was too personal to include and recruiters suggested I remove it.  It is with huge sadness that I realise to potential employers this long nursing journey doesn’t mean anything and instead should be filtered.  I dream of the day when being a nursing mother is honored and respected and that extended breastfeeding is admired.  My hope is that extended breastfeeding becomes the norm as it used to be (and still is in many cultures around the world).  Perhaps then my choices won’t seem so shocking to corporate America.

This week my blog is personal because breastfeeding is personal and will change you as a person and a mother.  It will certainly have a dramatic benefit on your life as well as that of your child.  I will forever treasure my nursing relationship with my son and plan to breastfeed him until he’s ready to give up his boobies.  I am grateful that my husband acknowledges what a commitment nursing our son has been.  I know the bond we share, deepened specifically because of breastfeeding, is priceless.  I dream of a world where the boardrooms across the globe awaken to that realization as well and the discrimination that stands in the way of stay-at-home mother’s is broken down.

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Representative Carolyn Maloney of New York wants to reintroduce the Breastfeeding Promotion Act of 2009.  She and other co-sponsors will hold a press conference help on 3 June at 11.30am on the Cannon Terrace at the Cannon Building on Capitol Hill. Among other things, this bill would:

• Add breastfeeding mothers in the workplace as a protected class under the Civil Rights Act of 1964
• Provide incentives for employers to have private lactation areas for workers
• Create a performance standard for breast pump equipment
• Create tax deductions for pumping equipment

Here’s how you can help Representative Maloney:

1. Contact your Congress representative and ask them to sign as co-sponsors for the Breastfeeding Promotion Act.  The more co-sponsors the bill has, the more attention and support it will get.  All 435 Representatives need to understand how important this bill is to 70% of working mothers who want to continue breastfeeding their children once they return to work.  Call and email your Representative and speak to a legislative aid today!

2. Attend the press conference about the bill on June 3rd at 11:30 am on the Cannon Terrace at the Cannon Office Building, Independence Avenue and 1st Street, SE, Washington, DC 20003 if you live within driving distance of Washington, D.C.  You can also take Metro to the Capitol South station on the Blue Orange lines.  Pregnant and nursing mother, their partners, grandparents and all your nursing children are invited to show their support at the press conference.  Please RSVP to wchappel@myexcel.com with the number of adults/babies/children attending so we can be prepared (and have enough kid friendly snacks/drinks on hand) and to have final details emailed to all the night before the event.

3. Visit your representative’s office immediately after the press conference to ask them to support the bill.  All of the legislative buildings are near Cannon Office Building.  If you call ahead you can make an appointment to speak to someone.

4. E-mail wchappel@myexcel.com immediately “if you have a workplace lactation discrimination story you would like to share at the press conference.”   The speakers lineup is being put together now and some mothers may be invited to talk about their own stories.

Here are some of the economic benefits to the employers who support breastfeeding:

• Lower staff turnover and loss of skilled workers after they give birth
• Less time off for breastfeeding mothers because their children are more resilient to illness
• Lower healthcare costs for breastfed babies
• Increased productivity by happier employees
• Additional recruitment benefits for women
• Enhances company reputation showing its concern for the welfare of its employees and their families

There are three requirements to ensure a woman can successfully return to work and continue breastfeeding:

1. Time: Employees need enough time to take pumping breaks or work flexible hours.

2. Space: Clean, comfortable and private spaces for expressing and storing breast milk or nearby child care so employees can breastfeed on their breaks.

3. Support: Mother-friendly workplace policies which improve attitudes to breastfeeding. This should include educating staff, including management about the benefits of breastfeeding.

Just in case you don’t already know this, health insurance plans often cover the purchase of a breast pump. Pregnant women with insurance should look into this, because a quality breast pump can easily cost $300.

Please do what you can to support this bill and help give vital support to working breastfeeding mothers.

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USBC Chair Joan Younger Meek, MD, MS, RD, FAAP, FABM, IBCLC, says “research clearly shows that breastfeeding provides a safe, reliable food source, full of disease-fighting cells and antibodies that help protect infants from germs and illnesses. Mothers exposed to influenza produce specific protection for their infants and transmit this through their breast milk. Infant formula does not provide these specific infection fighting properties. Unnecessary formula supplementation should be eliminated so the infant can receive as much benefit as possible from maternal protective antibodies and other immune protective factors.”  This re-enforces the importance of breastfeeding specifically in emergency situations.

Women can breastfeed while receiving antiviral medications. The CDC recommends a sick woman should continue breastfeeding and increase the frequency of feedings. If either mother or infant is too ill to breastfeed directly at the breast, the mother should pump breast milk for her baby instead.  If this is not possible, you may be able to get donated breast milk from the Human Milk Banking Associtaion of North America.

According to the CDC, the risk of transmission of H1N1 (swine) flu through breast milk is unknown.  It is, however, rare that seasonal flu is transmitted through breast milk.  Also, once the mother shows symptoms of flu, her infant has frequently already been exposed.  Breast milk can in fact give additional protection to your baby from the flu.

To protect against the transmission of  H1N1 (swine) flu breastfeed your children and ensure all parents and caregivers do the following to prevent spreading germs:

• Wash both adults and children’s hands with soap and water, especially if placed in the mouth
• Infants and mothers should enjoy lots of skin-to-skin contact
• Don’t share toys that have been in infant’s mouths.  Wash them with soap and water if placed in the mouth.
• Don’t share pacifiers or let adults put them in their mouths (including the pacifier ring/handle)
• Cover nose and mouth when coughing or sneezing

Breastfeeding boosts a child’s immune system and helps fight infection.  This is a good idea at all times but even more so since the H1N1 (swine) flu outbreak.  I’m glad to see yet another great reason why we should continue to keep our children boobiefed.

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