August 1-7 was World Breastfeeding Week. The centerpiece of the global event was an effort to get mothers in 120 countries "to nurse simultaneously on August 8, for a new Guiness World Record. (Check out photos from around the world.) If you decided to celebrate by nursing a child in public, I hope you consulted a law book first.
Although breastfeeding is generally considered the healthiest and most economical way to feed babies, in some parts of the United States and other countries, mothers risk arrest, workplace discrimination and ostracism if they nurse in public. Consequently, there's an increasing demand for laws and policies making it easier to nurse in public or on the job.
Shelly explains why more legal protections are needed in the US:
This past June alone...
".. Heather McClelland was harassed and given a hard time because she wanted to transport some pumped breastmilk on an airplane.
"... Kristen Skrydlak-Simlai was breastfeeding her baby at Elitch Garden Water Park in Denver when she was told by the staff that she needed to "cover up."
.".. Cheryl Cirillo-Tarica was denied entry onto a flight because she wished to transport pumped breast milk onto the flight with her.
"... Sophie Currier was denied extra time to pump for her infant daughter during a medical [licensing] exam."
At the beginning of August, mothers in New South Wales, Australia were granted new protections for breastfeeding under a law that would make it illegal to discriminate against them if they nurse in public or pump on the job. Violators can be fined as much as $40,000 AUD, ($34,252 USD), according to news reports. Verity Firth, Australia' Minister for Women, said she believed that some women stop breastfeeding prematurely for fear of workplace discrimination:
"I do think that where people feel uncomfortable in public or where they feel uncomfortable going back to their workplace because their workplace isn't supporting their breastfeeding or expressing of milk during the day, this can mean women actually wean earlier than they should."
In the Philippines, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals'recent recalls of contaminated infant formula have energized breastfeeding advocates. Babygooroo explains the legal and policy goals of that country's breastfeeding movement:
"Philippine organizers hope mothers and advocates around the world who participate in this event will also sign a petition to the people and leaders of the United States (1) to enjoin the multinational milk companies as well as the United States government to respect the WHO-WTO Doha Agreement that public health is far more important than issues involving intellectual property rights; (2) to enjoin US embassies to observe international protocol in presenting their demands to other countries in behalf of US milk companies, especially when it involves issues of Breastfeeding; (3) to make sure breastfeeding issues be considered as an electoral issue in the coming US presidential elections; and (4) to make it understood that America’s main business should NOT be 'business itself,' but more importantly, international amity and the betterment of all humankind."
Maegan observes Latinas in the US and Central and South America are not participating in the breastfeeding movement in large numbers. In addition to "racism in lactivist circles," Maegan sees a welter of barriers that keep poor women and women of color from nursing:
"There are many barriers to breastfeeding among women of color in urban areas including the challenges of working mothers, short maternity leaves if any (I had none with my first child), and general employer and public lack of awareness and support for mothers who breastfeed. Uninsured women face additional challenges and government programs such as WIC, while promoting breastfeeding on paper, are still very formula oriented. And I am not even mentioning the cost barriers including access to breast pumps and lactation consultants...
"A huge complaint heard by all mothers who experience hospital births are the interventions by hospital staff that impede the early nursing process, key for both mother and child, including tests given to the newborn that separate mother and child, and the administration of medication that dry up mothers' milk..."
NPR's Michel Martin discussed the issue on her show last week with former Planned Parenthood director Faye Wattleton and Kim Gandy, president of the National Organization for Women. On her blog, she mused about the cultural pressures against non-breastfeeding mothers:
"But, there are always going to be mothers who can't breast-feed or who don't want to, for whatever reason -- they can't produce enough milk, they develop a serious illness. What then? Has the push to encourage breast-feeding become another guilt trip aimed at women to make them feel they can't measure up? Or, as another guest (Kim Gandy) suggested, has the push to encourage breast-feeding failed to pressure society to make it easier?"
How are nursing mothers treated in your neck of the woods? Do you want to see US manufacturers of Infant formula be more tightly regulated? In general, do you think new laws or public policies need to be changed?"