Category: Breastfeeding Laws

Breastfeeding While Separated From Baby

April 4, 2020

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“In the early years the baby has an intense need to be with his mother, which is as basic as his need for food.” – La Leche League International

Babies are separated from their birth parents at varying degrees for many reasons, including maternal or infant contagious disease, traumatic birth, surgical birth, adoption or surrogacy, NICU stay, travel, return to work, quarantine, imprisonment, detainment, natural disaster, maternal medical emergency, and more.

I’ll expand upon a few of these here, but in general I hope the resources and tips can be adapted as needed. I intend to update this article with attention to other reasons for separation and their respective resources.

For the purpose of this post, I’m focusing on the effects of separation in infancy specifically on breastfeeding / feeding. Read More

For Every Bad Experience You Have Nursing in Public, You’ll Have Many More Great Ones

August 17, 2015

Photo Credit: Leilani Rogers

Emily Medley, public programs director for Houston’s Health Museum, looked out from the podium to explain what led her to this place of passion for normalizing breastfeeding in public.

She recalled a time she went into the museum bathroom, and an uncomfortable scuffling drew her attention from one of the farthest stalls. She realized almost immediately there was a mother inside that stall, breastfeeding her baby on the toilet. It broke her heart.

Emily was pained to realize a mother could so greatly fear the stigma and criticisms (whether quiet or loud) that come with public nursing, that even with laws to protect her right to naturally feed in many states, she still doesn’t feel welcome enough to care for her baby where people can see her. A place of isolation and privacy only… a toilet.

She planned to close out this year’s World Breastfeeding Week in a very special way by hosting this museum presentation by Leilani Rogers, an Austin photographer and founder of The Public Breastfeeding Awareness Project. The exhibit called “Cradle Me Here” featured mothers nursing their babies and children throughout the museum on demand –“live breastfeeding art,” if you will — in response to a need, just like they would any other day or place.

Emily wanted us to know how thrilled she felt to host the event for us and that the museum not only welcomes breastfeeding mothers and our “SO beautiful babies!” but cherishes and respects us, too. After all, the museum board is on track to refocus what their education is “all about.” Now the museum touches most upon “the things that make us human,” and recognizes breastfeeding as one of the first major (and most normal) impressions upon childhood and lifelong physical and emotional health.

Despite all the attention given to those who just don’t “get it,” many people like Emily and Leilani do commiserate with the plight of a publicly breastfeeding mother. I myself have endured a few disappointing experiences breastfeeding in public (read about two here and here), but I’ve enjoyed some memorably positive ones too.

By sharing a few personal stories of positive NIP experiences, I hope that any mother who fears or hesitates to feed her child in public may be encouraged to do what she feels is best for her child — which will never be, at any age or level of publicity or food type, to serve him a meal on the toilet.

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We Breastfed In Public For As Much Attention As Possible This Weekend

August 3, 2015

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We were all proud. We have been proud, actually. So we showed up ready to nurse.

We did it modestly, though not one of us bothered to “cover up.” We did it with discretion, being that we nursed exclusively among supporters — though we wanted to be seen and heard. So we shared our experiences on every format far and wide with a movement of hashtags and brelfies and nurse-ins to prove that breastfeeding can work (more on that in a bit).

We wanted to count; in fact, we made sure we were being counted.

And we broke the standing world record: 14,889 children (simultaneously!) latched on to nurse for at least one full minute on Friday and Saturday all over the world for the Global Big Latch On. I attended one of the Houston events as a local representative for peaceful parenting/Dr. Momma. There, 73 moms and 82 children were officially latched on!

This event kicked off World Breastfeeding Week, for which the year’s theme is “Breastfeeding and Work: Let’s Make it Work!” The idea is to draw attention to issues faced by working mothers who want to breastfeed.

It also reminds of all the things that hope so badly for breastfeeding to not work.

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21 Ways To Celebrate National Breastfeeding Month Other Than, Well, Breastfeeding

July 31, 2015

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1.) TRIVIA TIME

Post breastfeeding trivia on your social media. Here are a few fun fact categories to start you off:

2). SAY THANKS TO MOMS

Thank a mother for breastfeeding. Put one of these cards in the hands of a mother you see nursing in public — or if you’re the shy type, leave it on the windshield of her car or tell her “I think you dropped this” before scampering off. So long as she gets the message, mission accomplished!

Check out a selection of cards here (Spanish version also available).

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Take A Stand For Breastfeeding In South Africa

July 23, 2015

I’m lucky enough to live in a region that is largely supportive of breastfeeding rights. I entered into this scene that was set up, fought for, petitioned and won over by many an oppressed and frustrated mother before me.

Still yes, harassment in public happens far too often, but in my city of Houston we enjoy regular breastfeeding-friendly awareness events, local support by way of writers and sponsors and vendors and women’s healthcare workers, and lots of options for La Leche League meetings and other in-person connections for new mothers.

This is NOT the case everywhere.

Some states and cities and countries need more help than others kickstarting the official protections of breastfeeding families.

PLEASE SIGN these three petitions and share on your social media. Deadline is August 1st. Every vote matters!

Exclusive Pumpers South Africa

Breastfeeding is the biologically normal way to feed a child and it’s positive impact on the economy and health sectors of South Africa can no longer be denied.

Mothers are routinely shamed for public breastfeeding or asked to cover or move off to a public bathroom to feed their infants, and many mothers find that due to their companies non-compliance with our current Code of Good Conduct regarding Pregnancy and Breastfeeding, they are forced to cease breastfeeding well before they are comfortable or financially able to do so, and well before the World Health Organisations recommendation of 2 years.

By signing these 3 petitions we can make a positive change in South Africa by protecting and supporting a child’s most valuable right, the right to optimal nutrition, a right that is enshrined in South Africa’s constitution.

Anél Olsson from Normalise Public Breastfeeding in South Africa and Helen Ilitha, an…

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A Few Considerations For Same-Sex Parents Regarding Breastfeeding

June 26, 2015
Photo Credit: Adam Bouska, NOH8

Photo Credit: Adam Bouska, NOH8. Featuring Mahaliyah Grace of Phoenix and Cindy Manit of San Francisco. Though the aforementioned subjects are reportedly are not a couple, this photo is worth a thousand words in all the wonderful possibilities it represents.

A historic moment witnessed today: Same-sex marriage is now legal in all 50 states of the U.S.!

Now that I’ve cried all my happy tears, I’m thinking back on the great struggle it took to get us here. A stigma still exists against same-sex couples adopting, for instance. But same-sex couples know love is love, and many of them wish to share that love with families of their own.

Have you given much thought to the issue of infant feeding by same-sex parents? For the vast majority of babies, breast is best. And the vast majority of all couples, regardless of sex, want the best for their babies. So how does that work — is it even possible?

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Defending Yourself Is Disrespectful, Say A Few Loud Ones Against Public Breastfeeding

June 17, 2015

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A few of the comments on a recent reactionary post I wrote are getting… a little out-of-hand, I’d say.

I don’t censor any non-spamming comments on my posts because I find great value in upholding the right to free speech and sharing of ideas. I personally feel that disapproving certain comments that rub me the wrong way could be likened to demanding that a breastfeeding mother throw a cover over her torso and child when in public just because someone can’t handle it.

Now I must learn how to handle things I don’t agree with too, such as antagonistic comments. (A heavy bet that zero of the nay-saying commenters would dare peep a word directly to me if they actually saw me breastfeeding in public).

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I Caused My Relatives “Heartache” By Breastfeeding In Public

June 15, 2015

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First, A Little Background…

I went to a destination wedding this weekend in Charleston with my husband a.k.a. The Designated Dad (TDD) and our nursling MaiTai. The Bride and Groom are close relatives  and TDD was the Best Man.

The first night I was excited to attend the rehearsal dinner. Shortly after arriving, I left briefly to use the bathroom. On my way back I was cornered — literally cornered — by the dinner’s host (another close family member). Let’s call him… Dinner Host.

“I need you to do me a big favor,” Dinner Host said. Ooh, exciting! I must be in on some kind of special surprise, I figured. Jokingly, I said, “Maybe, depends on the favor!”

Dinner Host’s face turned solemn and funereal. Something serious was afoot. Something dramatic. The thought actually crossed my mind if he was about to ask me to take someone to the Emergency Room.

“Holly,” he said. “I’m asking that if [MaiTai] needs to nurse tonight, that you go somewhere else. I know you’re very passionate about this, but honestly it isn’t the time or place.” Read More

“Mother Nature’s Masterpiece” Uses Art to Help Educate About Breastfeeding

February 23, 2015

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Texas Breastfeeding Coalition hosted an art exhibit to expand awareness among state legislators and the general public about special issues that breastfeeding mothers and babies face, as well as the importance of breastfeeding in keeping our youngest generations healthy. Read more about “Mother Nature’s Masterpiece” here.

The event is a highlight in the Coalition’s promotion of its recent and upcoming action days that aim to secure better protections for breastfeeding mothers both in public and in the workplace. Read up on the agenda for the Legislative Action Days here.

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Stop Dropping Your Shirts Here, says a “nurturing” play place for families

February 23, 2015

Via MassLive

Breastfeeding harassment is not always “in your face.” Often, it takes place behind the anonymity of a computer screen shield in online forums and posts. Sometimes it comes in the form of a “well-meaning” but still uncomfortable comment from a relative or friend. It’s also apparent by complaints made by strangers behind a mother’s back.

Here’s an example of the extremely ANTI-BABY culture that some regions in our nation call normal. Last week, Play Date Place in South Hadley, Massachusetts, which bills itself as a nurturing place (rather, “nuturing,” because PDP’s representative isn’t so gifted wit da grammurr), posted this on its Facebook page:

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Does Breastfeeding Mean the End of Happy Hours?

November 9, 2014

Giving beer to a baby is bad. Giving breast milk to a baby is good. Giving beer to a breastfeeding mother… well, let’s talk about that.

In March, a woman in Arkansas was arrested on the basis of child endangerment for breastfeeding in a restaurant after consuming two beers. In September, a Virginia woman was kicked out of Big Woody’s Bar & Grill for — yep, you guessed it — sipping a beer (only one sip, she says) while breastfeeding her 11-month-old. I know, I know… “What was she thinking bringing a child to a bar?!” A bar & GRILL, actually. You know, more Chili’s, less Coyote Ugly. (And the particular establishment bills itself as “family friendly”). The woman also claims she is a degreed chemist who has done her research and knows how much alcohol she can have without affecting her breast milk.

Did these women deserve arrest and refusal? Were they misguided to think their behaviors were perfectly harmless, or do they know something their persecutors don’t? Let’s see…

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Very First Doctor’s Note for Baby (Copy & Bring to the Birth Hospital)

August 7, 2014

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I’m a healthy full-term baby. I’m exclusively breastfed.

I trust that my Mommy knows best, so please ask her, _________ (mother’s name), whether it’s okay to give me anything other than her milk. This includes water, glucose syrup, formula, and even pacifiers.

I eat on-cue.

But please help my Mommy to breastfeed me every 1-3 hours while we’re in the hospital by tending to her childbirth recovery needs while she tends to mine.

I need to stay with my Mommy at all times.

Her designated birth partner, ________(birth partner’s name) will stay with me in the event that I might need to leave her side (let’s do all of my pediatric check-ups at the side of her bed or in her arms! Thanks!).

We’re both new to this, so we like to consider all decisions together very carefully.

  • We decided to postpone my first bath, so…

    Mommy will let you know when it’s okay to bathe me.

  • Also, I don’t want an unnecessary surgery right now, so…

    whether I’m a boy or a girl, my genitals will remain intact.

  • We have a limited list of approved visitors, so…

    please double-check about visitors because we need private time to bond.

 

With love and trust,

___________________________________________________ Mommy’s Signature

___________________________________________________ Baby’s Name

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