Pumping at Work

Lawyer Jake Aryeh Marcus asks you to Curb Your Enthusiasm about the new Federal workplace pumping law on her blog, Sustainable Mothering. Also check out, for comparison's sake, The risks of noncompliance with Oregon's milk expression law by Marion Rice of Nursing Mothers Counsel.

Pumping at Work

The Washington Business Journal reports on the workplace-pumping provisions of the new health care package, focusing on the business aspects. Check out these facts about why businesses should support lactating women in the workplace:

In 2008, the Department of Health and Human Services outlined the bottom-line business benefits of accommodating breast-feeding mothers. They include:

○ Breast-feeding employees miss work less often. Mothers of formula-fed infants take more than twice as many days off to care for sick children. Maternal milk boosts an infant’s immune system and helps protect the baby from common childhood illnesses and infections — a particularly high risk for children in day care. Health insurer Cigna Corp. conducted a two-year study of 343 employees who participated in their lactation support program. Among other things, the program saved $600,000 by reducing absenteeism rates.

○ Breast-feeding lowers health care costs. Cigna’s program resulted in annual savings of $240,000 in health care expenses and 62 percent fewer prescriptions. The reduced health care costs for breast-fed infants translate into lower medical insurance claims for businesses. Mutual of Omaha Insurance Co. had a similar program and found that health care costs for its working mother employees who did not breast-feed were $2,146 higher per person.

○ Workplace lactation support programs can improve employee retention rates. One study of several companies with lactation support programs showed that 94.2 percent of working mothers returned to their employers after maternity leave when lactation support programs were in place. That compares to the national average retention rate of just 59 percent. Another study estimates that companies save $75,000 for each employee who returns to the workplace after childbirth.

Podcast: Jake Marcus on nursing in public and the law

The Motherwear Breastfeeding Blog has posted a podcast interview with attorney Jake Marcus on the subject of nursing in public and the law:

Jake discusses the different types of breastfeeding laws, what to do if you're harassed for nursing in public, and where to get information on the law in your state.

Also, don't miss her article on Lactation and the Law at Mothering.com.

Breastmilk as a Human Right

It's always interesting to read news articles from other countries. The perspective is just... different. Take this one from India, for example:

Can fashionable young women who do not breast feed be pulled up for violation of human rights of the child? Alleging that many young women influenced by television ads on bras are not breastfeeding to maintain their breasts, CPI(M) member in Lok Sabha Varkala Radhakrishnan on Wednesday said: "It (denial of breast milk) is human rights violation."

Maintaining that "breast milk is not just the only wholesome food, but also the child's right", Radhakrishnan said that "breastfeeding must be strictly enforced".

Link: Breast milk denial is human rights violation.

Huntington Beach Bans Nudity

Aren't there state regulations on this?

The [Huntington Beach] City Council unanimously voted to ban public nudity during its Monday meeting after a brief debate that resulted in striking portions of the proposed ordinance.

The council decided to limit the law to being nude where it is visible from a public area. They deleted regulations on a women breastfeeding an infant older than age 2, and restrictions on wearing a costume or device that simulated nudity.

The article goes on to say:

This type of ordinance is not new to cities in Orange County. More than half of the cities in the county have approved similar bans on public nudity, said [Police Chief Kenneth] Small.

Wonder what those ordinances say about breastfeeding?

I'm so behind, I'll never catch up

Here are a couple things on the radar today:

The Australian parliament is debating whether breastfeeding legislators should be given a proxy vote - that is, to have their vote recorded while they are out of the chamber:

The issue of breastfeeding in Parliament made headlines in 2003 when Victorian Labor MP Kirstie Marshall was thrown out of State Parliament for breastfeeding.

Committee members said the debate had resurfaced in light of an increasing number of new mums in the House of Representatives in the past decade.

The committee found only 10 female MPs had given birth while in office - out of a total of about 130 female MPs.

"Women have faced the difficult choice between prioritising their duties as a member with those of being a mother," members said.

Pennsylvania's governor signed that state's breastfeeding legislation. Although breastfeeding advocates would have preferred a stronger bill, it's better than nothing.

A Missouri judge has issued a temporary restraining order blocking implementation of HB 818 which decriminalizes direct-entry midwifery. This bill has caused a lot of controversy. Apparently, it's a circus over there in the Missouri legislature:

A senator secretly attached the provision to a bill intended to make health insurance more accessible to some Missourians. Gov. Matt Blunt signed the bill into law.

Several physician groups sued last Thursday, claiming the midwife language violates the Missouri Constitution by going beyond the bill’s health insurance title and by changing the bill’s original purpose.

The recently passed legislation says that regardless of the current felony statute, anyone with a “tocological certification” — meaning in obstetrics — from a privately accredited group can provide services related to pregnancy.

The title of the bill that passed described it as “relating to health insurance.”

(link)

Alabama has voted down its midwifery bill. Try again next year?

Nancy Ver Steegh of The Family Law Prof Blog reports Problems at Center Where Mothers Serve Prison Terms With Young Children:

"The authorities in California are investigating accusations that poor health care at a center where mothers serve prison terms with their young children led to the stillbirth of a 7-month-old fetus and endangered the lives of several children.

Staff logs, statements by prisoners and interviews with investigators, staff members and prisoners’ families depict a facility where inmates and their children were denied hospital visits and medications, and where no one kept adequate records of accidents involving injuries that included a skull fracture and a broken collarbone."

Giving Birth With Confidence links childbirth issues to a recently-released government list of hospitals where heart patients are most likely to die in Out of the Dark: Transparency and Birth:

Transparency is suddenly a big deal. This government report follows on the heels of efforts in New York City, and communities across the country, to improve the level of transparency related to childbirth. Giving birth in the dark is an apt metaphor for the current state that women find themselves in when attempting to access information about maternity care. The recent NYC public advocates’ report identified that city hospitals although legally mandated to do so, are still failing to provide maternity information. Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum is working tirelessly to insure that hospitals do what they are legally mandated to do…including reporting induction and cesarean rates.

Better get this posted before I get distracted by something else...

Breastfeeding mother given parking ticket

Breastfeeding mother given parking ticket:

Breastfeeding support groups have condemned the actions of an attendant who fined a mother for parking in a restricted area to feed her child and then took photographs for proof.

The warden employed by a national car park management company confronted Jerricah Watson, 19, after she pulled into a permit holders-only bay in the Candle Lane area of Dundee to breastfeed her 14-week-old son Jaksyn.

Ms Watson pulled into the quiet street to get away from the city-centre traffic and said the warden initially said it was okay to feed her child. She said he then took photos and put a ticket on her car.

When she approached the attendant, from Birmingham-based Central Ticketing, which is responsible for policing the parking in the area, he said it was too late to withdraw the ticket. The penalty was for £85 or £60 if paid within two weeks.

"As I'm breastfeeding and therefore my son is fed on demand, I need to stop right away," she said.

"I feel with the government both locally and nationally trying to encourage mums to breastfeed that it was unfair of the man not to take that into account or even bother to ask me to move or give me a few minutes to feed my child."

The incident has alarmed breastfeeding support groups who believe more should be done by government to allow babies to be fed naturally.

Gillian McWhirter, a Scottish breastfeeding support group adviser, said: "This is a very unfortunate situation. There is enough of a problem getting mothers to breastfeed because they are embarrassed to do it in public. But to not just give this woman a ticket but take pictures of her while she was in the car, is quite shocking.

"These kind of situations encourage ignorance over the importance of breastfeeding, which scientific evidence shows decreases the rate of infant illness.

"It is a basic right for a child to receive nutrition and every mother knows that when baby cries, baby has to be fed."

Thyll Buchanan, a registered Scottish breastfeeding network supporter, added: "Young mothers need all the help and support they can to continue to breastfeed. It is safer to pull over and feed a crying baby than to try and continue driving under stressful conditions."

Central Ticketing said it would cancel the ticket if an investigation into the mother's complaint found her story to be true. Part of the inquiry would involve examining pictures taken by the parking attendant.

"We will see if this woman's story stacks up, because the warden would have taken photographs and she would have been in the vehicle," said the spokesman.

"We issue thousands of parking charges a week. Fifty per cent of people send in an appeal. You have to bear in mind of every 10 letters we receive seven or eight of these members of the public are telling lies. We are not saying this woman is. This will be investigated."

Figures released last month show that fewer Scottish mothers are opting to breastfeed despite numerous government campaigns promoting the health benefits.

Last year, only 44.2% of mothers were breastfeeding at the time of a health worker's first visit when the baby is about 10 days old while 36.6% were doing so after six to eight weeks. That compares with 45.1% and 37.2% respectively in 2005.

This incident occurred in Scotland, where anyone who interferes with breastfeeding can be fined up to £2,500 (nearly $5,000). Since Scotland is the first (known) jurisdiction to impose a fine for interfering with breastfeeding, the language of the law (.pdf) could be a model for other jurisdictions to follow:

1 Offence of preventing or stopping a child 5 from being fed milk

(1)Subject to subsection (2), it is an offence deliberately to prevent or stop a person in charge of a child from feeding milk to that child in a public place or on licensed premises.
(2) Subsection (1) does not apply if the child, at the material time, is not lawfully permitted to be in the public place or on the licensed premises otherwise than for the purpose of being fed milk.
(3) A person guilty of an offence under subsection (1) is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 4 on the standard scale.
(4) In this section—
"child" means a person who has not yet attained the age of two years;
"feeding" includes—

(a) breastfeeding; and
(b) feeding from a bottle or other container;

"licensed premises" means premises licensed under—

(a) section 12 of the Theatres Act 1968 (c.54);
(b) Part II of the Licensing (Scotland) Act 1976 (c.66);
(c) Part II of the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 (c.45); or
(d) section 1 of the Cinemas Act 1985 (c.13);

"milk" means breastmilk, cow’s milk or infant formula;
"public place" means any place to which, at the material time, the public or any section of the public has access, on payment or otherwise, as of right or by virtue of express or implied permission.

I'm not implying that the parking attendant violated the Scottish law, it just seemed like a good opportunity to blog about Scotland. I like the fact that the statue defines "public place". Although the definition of "public place" is probably well-defined in the case law of US states, the definition was not incorporated into most breastfeeding statues, leading to some confusion among the general public.

Breastfeeding Legislative Update

Tanya Lieberman, host of The Motherwear Blog, has done an excellent job of summarizing recent breastfeeding-related legislation. So much so, that I don't feel like I need to do my own, which I was - sort-of - working on. I do have a couple additions to the list, below.

La Leche League maintains a Summary of Proposed Breastfeeding Legislation; however it is not as complete as one would like.

Texas - The September, 2006 issue of ParentWiseAustin covered the state's NIP statute thoroughly:

What’s the big deal about breastfeeding in public? The law, that’s what. Although it protects a woman’s right to breastfeed in Texas, few folks know about it and, even if they do, they don’t necessarily have to follow it. We explain why beginning on page 8.

Excellent reading. I even learned some things, such as the fact that a woman who feels that her right to breastfeed has been interfered with can file a complaint with the Texas Department of State Health Services , which "responds to complaints by sending a letter to the facility where the alleged violation occurred, explaining the law and encouraging the owner or manager to inform employees about it." They get about 2 or 3 complaints a month.

Also, the Texas DSHS has a number of brochures and other breastfeeding information which can be ordered or downloaded, including a "licence to breastfeed in public" card.

Wisconsin - Assembly Bill 104/Senate Bill 30 would guarantee the right to breastfeed in public and put in place a fine not to exceed $200 for interfering with a breastfeeding mother. Also, the city of Madison approved a breastfeeding ordinance in January.

Internationally, Chile passed a law this year giving mothers the right to breastfeed their child at work; and the city of Toronto is hoping to raise public awareness of the protected nature of nursing in public.

Breastfeeding Legislative Update - Wisconsin

The county board of Dane County, Wisconsin (i.e. Madison) has enacted an ordinance which "prohibits anyone from interfering with a breastfeeding mother in any public place in Dane County."

While the ordinance overwhelmingly passed the county board, there is a similar measure currently in committees of the Madison City Council as well as the state Legislature.

There are consequences for a violation of the ordinance. Anyone who violates the law could be subject to a fine ranging from $10 to $100, WISC-TV reported.

It is rare, though not unheard of, for a city or county to pass such an ordinance (see Chandler, AZ), and even rarer (this may be the first, outside of Scotland) for a fine to be imposed on those who interfere with a breastfeeding pair.

Breastfeeding Legislative Update: New York and Massachusetts

The Motherwear Breastfeeding Blog has the lowdown.

Breastfeeding Legislative Update - New York

Seeking to codify a concise, easily understood document, State Senator Liz Krueger has introduced the Breastfeeding Mothers' Bill of Rights. The legislation, S8511, draws upon New York State Rules and Regulations, the Best Hospital Practices and the World Health Organization Baby Friendly guidelines.

(link)

Breastfeeding Lesislative Update - VT

Council kills breast-feeding initiative:

The City Council [of Burlington, Vermont] decided at its last meeting not to involve the city in encouraging breast-feeding. Some councilors said it is not a "core mission" of the city.

Breastfeeding Lesislative Update - Kansas

Kansas has not only passed a new law insuring the right of moms to breastfeed in public breastfed babies to be fed wherever they are, but has gone one step further by distributing cards explaining the law:

To help educate the public about the law, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) and La Leche League of Kansas produced a breastfeeding informational card called Loving Support Makes Breastfeeding Work. The card was designed for nursing mothers to carry with them and share with the public or businesses that do not understand their right to breastfeed. The card has the law printed on it as well as additional information about breastfeeding.

Such cards have been carried by breastfeeding advocates for years, but never, to my knowlege, has the government partnered with LLL to produce and distribue the cards.

Final Update - Chandler, Arizona

The City Council of Chandler met last night and decided to do the right thing:

• The City Council tentatively adopted a breast-feeding ordinance that allows a mother to breast feed on public or private property "where the mother and child are otherwise authorized to be." Final adoption will be in November and the ordinance would then take effect 30 days from final adoption.
  

• Additionally, a resolution was passed encouraging the Legislature to take up the issue of rights for breast-feeding mothers as well. Both votes were unanimous.

This makes Chandler the second city in the nation to pass a breastfeeding ordinance (first was Philadelphia). Thirty-five states (but not Arizona) have passed breastfeeding legislation similar to Chandler's ordinance. The City of Tucson is taking up the issue.

Prior to this week's Council meeting, City Attorney Michael House - who has apparently been living in a cave for the last 50 years - was quoted as saying, "Under the United States Constitution, they, the business owner has the almost unrestricted power to regulate activities on their premises." Excuse me?

Ironically - or not - Chandler was recently named one of the Top 100 Best Communities for Young People .

Links:
Previous post on Chandler, Arizona (with extensive legal discussion)
Previous post on Update - Chandler, Arizona

Breastfeeding Legislative Update - Wisconsin

A proposed bill in Wisconsin (hey, dairy country!) would impose a fine of $200 on anyone who harasses a breastfeeding mother. To my knowledge, the bill, if passed (doubtful) would make Wisconsin the first state to put teeth into legislation guaranteeing the right to breastfeed in public. Scotland passed such a law earlier this year, and efforts are being made to do the same in Britain.

Breastfeeding Legislative Updates

A law in Scotland has come into force which imposes fines on anyone trying to prevent a woman from breastfeeding in public (articles from the BBC and
Scotland Today).

A campaign is underway - TheWayNatureIntended.org - to promote a similar law in Britain.

Here in the states, however, Kansas Senate balks at breastfeeding bill.

A Massachusetts bill would also impose fines (Harwich Oracle). The article states:

Supporters said that it is important to put these traditional protections into state law so that there is no chance that breastfeeding mothers are charged with a crime or denied their right to breastfeed when necessary. Some opponents said that the law is unnecessary because breastfeeding is not currently illegal and there are no reported incidents of mothers being charged with a crime or being denied the right to breastfeed.

And the Texas Bills I blogged about in January which would prohibit the promotion of artificial baby milk (er - infant formula) have been referred to committee. If the bills make it out of committee (doubtful), that means no more free diaper bags at the hospital, sorry ladies.

4/12/05 Edited to Add: Ohio bill