The original convenience food, provided in attractive containers…..
World Breastfeeding Week started last Friday, August 1st and runs through this Thursday, August 7th. In New York City. In celebration of this event and to advocate for the Breastfeeding Bill of Rights, (From the NYT):
…..30 women nursing infants rode the A train from New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia in Washington Heights to Nostrand Avenue in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. There, they exited the subway and joined a rally at Restoration Plaza.
Although the Breastfeeding Bill of rights (text can be found here) has passed, overwhelmingly, in the State Assembly, because of semantics, it has been stalled in the NYS Senate and has not reached the floor. And, surprise, surprise, it is a Republican, in the name of Kemp Hannon from Long Island and it is a medical establishment in the form of ACOG which is holding up the passage of this bill.
Most of the legislation affirms what is already on the books in state laws or regulations, but the bill’s sponsor, State Senator Liz Krueger, a Manhattan Democrat, said the proposal “codifies mothers’ rights to breastfeed into a single, concise document and bans commercial interests from influencing new mothers’ choice of breastfeeding.”
Ms. Krueger criticized a fellow state senator, Kemp Hannon, Republican of Long Island, saying he “has kept the Breastfeeding Bill of Rights bottled up in committee for too long,” and noting that the Assembly has twice passed the bill, the last time unanimously.
In a phone interview, Mr. Hannon said he was not opposed in principle to the legislation, but was sensitive to concerns raised by obstetricians and gynecologists about the wording of the proposal. Some of the language concerning access to information, he said, could be read to mean “interference in the practice of medicine.”
In reading the text of the bill, I’m not sure I can locate where, “the practice of medicine”, is being interferred with. I’m sure I will hear back in the comments :-) But, let me leave you with this:
“The newborn baby has three basic needs, they are warmth in the arms of it’s mother, food from her breasts and security in the knowledge of her presence. Breastfeeding satisfies all three.” [Dr Grantly Dick-Read]
Happy World Breastfeeding Week everyone!
(h/t to Stlo7)
For Governor Paterson’s proclamation, read below the fold.
Proclamation
Whereas, the first week of August is recognized as World Breastfeeding Week – a global initiative to increase awareness of the benefits of breastfeeding and its important and positive long-term effects on the growth and development of infants; and
Whereas, the New York State Department of Health, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Surgeon General encourage breastfeeding during the first six months of infancy as it is the best way an infant can obtain the nutritional and emotional resources needed during the first year of life; and
Whereas, breastfeeding promotes overall health, growth and development, and helps to prevent infections during infancy, as well as asthma, obesity, diabetes, and other chronic illnesses in childhood and later adulthood; and
Whereas, mothers benefit from breastfeeding in many ways, as it not only advances postpartum recovery, but decreases the risk of ovarian, uterine and endometrial cancers, as well as anemia, diabetes and osteoporosis; and
Whereas, women with infants and children are one of the fastest growing segments of the U.S. labor force, yet women cite returning to work as one of the primary reasons for not continuing to breastfeed to six months of age; and
Whereas, accommodations for breastfeeding at work benefit not only women and children, but employers as well—there are cost savings in terms of health care (less illness among breastfed children), higher morale and a stronger sense of loyalty among women employees, and greater awareness of a positive, family-friendly image in the community; and
Whereas, the State of New York, through the enactment of the Nursing Mothers in the Workplace Act, provides the right of nursing mothers to express milk at work; and
Whereas, New York State recognizes that it is vital to make informed choices about the health and care of infants and supports this weeklong observance which encourages the breastfeeding which benefits mothers as well as infants, who gain valuable nutrition that advances healthy growth and development;
Now, Therefore, I, David A. Paterson, Governor of New York State, do hereby proclaim August 1-7, 2008 as
BREASTFEEDING WEEK
in the Empire State.
The NYS Senate is controlled and run by idiots. That status quo reality is the “checks and balances” that Joe Robach talks about being so important and valuable.
I think when Kemp Hannon (R- Asstown) says “interference in the practice of medicine.” he is referring to the sections that says breastfeeding “helps to prevent infections during infancy, as well as asthma, obesity, diabetes, and other chronic illnesses in childhood and later adulthood” and “mothers benefit from breastfeeding in many ways, as it not only advances postpartum recovery, but decreases the risk of ovarian, uterine and endometrial cancers, as well as anemia, diabetes and osteoporosis.”
By reducing the risks, mom and baby are interfering with the potential for having practicing medicine on themselves.
[...] week, during World Breastfeeding Week, I wrote this post. Today I received an email urging those who care about a baby’s right to breastfeed to call [...]